Rise in global temperature and gaseous pollutants disturb the ecological interactions and the insect biodiversity. A recent study from our lab showed that levels of ozone found in rural areas disrupt the innate attraction of the tobacco hawkmoth Manduca sexta to the odour of one of its preferred flowers (Cook et al. 2020). However, this study showed that moths are able to learn ozone-altered floral odours through reward learning. Therefore, we speculate that insects such as Drosophilids might also possess similar ability in coping with modified odours through anthropogenic pollutants. We therefore investigate the effect of ozonated odours on the behaviour of “generalists” (Drosophilids that live in a wide ecological niche) and “specialists” (Drosophilids that live in a particular place). We hypothesize that “generalists” could adapt better than “specialists” in an increasingly polluted atmosphere. For instance, D.sechellia, a specialist Drosophilid, has adapted peripheral receptors and neural circuits in the brain allowing the insect to feed on noni fruit which other drosophilids strongly repel. These specialized changes which are beneficial to thrive in a specific niche might be the cause for specialists like D.sechellia to be less adaptive to increasing levels of pollutants in the environment. The objective of the project is to study the adaptations and plasticity of various drosophilids in response to pollutants. Through behavioral experiments, we found that D.melanogaster flies upon ozonation exhibit a decreased response to attractive odours and an increased aversion to aversive odors. Further functional imaging and electrophysiological experiments will reveal the neuronal mechanism behind the observed modified odour perception in ozonated flies at a functional and behavioral level. Furthermore, we aim to analyze the learning abilities of the different drosphilids to adapt to modified food odors.