Female Drosophila choose their sites for oviposition with deliberation. Female flies employ sensitive chemosensory systems to evaluate chemical cues for egg-laying substrates, but how they determine the physical quality of an oviposition patch remains largely unexplored. Here we report that flies evaluate the stiffness of the substrate surface using sensory structures on their appendages. The TRPV family channel Nanchung is required for the detection of all stiffness ranges tested, whereas two other proteins, Inactive and DmPiezo, interact with Nanchung to sense certain spectral ranges of substrate stiffness differences. Furthermore, Tmc is critical for sensing subtle differences in substrate stiffness. The Tmc channel is expressed in distinct patterns on the labellum and legs and the mechanosensory inputs coordinate to direct the final decision making for egg laying. Our study thus reveals the machinery for deliberate egg-laying decision making in fruit flies to ensure optimal survival for their offspring.

雌性果蝇慎重选择它们的产卵地点。雌性苍蝇采用敏感的化学感应系统来评估产卵基质的化学线索，但它们如何确定产卵贴片的物理质量在很大程度上仍未得到探索。在这里，我们报告苍蝇使用其附属物上的感官结构评估基板表面的刚度。检测所有测试的刚度范围需要 TRPV 家族通道 Nanchung，而其他两种蛋白质 Inactive 和 DmPiezo 与 Nanchung 相互作用以感知基板刚度差异的某些光谱范围。此外，Tmc 对于检测基材刚度的细微差异至关重要。Tmc 通道在唇瓣和腿上以不同的模式表达，机械感觉输入协调指导产卵的最终决策。因此，我们的研究揭示了果蝇故意产卵决策的机制，以确保其后代的最佳生存。