Genetic Alteration of Olfactory Functions in Drosophila Melanogaster

An olfactory mutant of Drosophila melanogaster has been isolated. In 97 chemicals examined, the mutant is strongly attracted by 18 chemicals repllent to parent strain: These are salicylaldehyde, morin, maltol, kojic acid, methyl acetoacetate, 2, 4-pentanedione, benzoylacetone, 2, 3-butanedione, six carboxylic acids and four aliphatic monoketones. These chemicals except four monoketones contain a molecular feature as the ‘bifunctional unit’ consisting of a proton-acceptor (A) and a proton-donor (D) in gas phase, showing an average A-D distance of about 3Å.