Evolutionary shifts in taste coding in the fruit pest Drosophila suzukii

Although most Drosophila species lay eggs in overripe fruit, D. suzukii has undergone a remarkable evolutionary shift: it lays eggs on ripe fruit. This adaptation poses a major threat to a wide variety of fruit crops and raises questions about the mechanisms underlying the shift. To evaluate the role of taste in the adaptation of D. suzukii to its new niche, we analyzed the labellar transcriptomes of D. suzukii, D. melanogaster and D. biarmipes.