The findings will be used to develop more effective flytraps, for example for use in stables. Flies are attracted to decaying and fermenting substances but using such substances in flytraps is not practical because they dry out too fast and require a lot of maintenance. Synthetic combinations of odours which flies find attractive would seem to be a more effective solution. In order to determine what substances are attractive to flies, the biologists at University of Groningen investigated how flies smell.
Flies smell with special cells in olfactory hairs on their antennae and palps.
When olfactory molecules bind to the olfactory cell, tiny electrical impulses are transmitted to the brain. An electrode placed at the base of the hair can measure these impulses and thus determine the reaction to an olfactory stimulus. The STW study showed that the majority of olfactory cells react to a variety of smells and that there are only a few specialised olfactory cells that distinguish one specific smell. For the fly, these substances are like an attractive perfume. However, flies are also sensitive to less predictable odours.