Male antennae of Armadillidium vulgare discriminate Wolbachia-infected females

Abstract

. In natural populations of A. vulgare , the endosymbiont Wolbachia feminizes genetic males. When confronted with genetic females and feminized males, males prefer genetic females. We tested whether the ability of males to discriminate both females involved the detection of chemical com-poundsbyextractingfemalecuticularcompoundsthroughvarioussolventbathsandpresentingthem to male antennae. We also tested female antennae responses to evaluate the potential impact of Wolbachia on individual detection. Our results showed that only the ethyl acetate extracts triggered a significantly di ff erent response of male antennae between the two types of females. No di ff erence be-tween female antennal detection was recorded. Further experiments are required to identify the involved molecule explaining the sexual preference of males towards Wolbachia -free females.