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Reidentification of the female sex pheromone of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella : Evidence for a four-component pheromone blend

Zhu, Junwei ; Ryne, Camilla LU ; Unelius, C. Rikard ; Valeur, Peter G. LU and Löfstedt, Christer LU (1999) In Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 92(2). p.137-146
Abstract

Pheromone gland extracts from calling female Plodia interpunctella contained at least seven compounds that consistently elicited electroantennographic responses from male antennae upon gas chromatographic analysis. Three of these compounds were found to be the previously identified gland constituents, i.e., (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (Z9,E12-14:OAc), (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienal (Z9,E12-14:Ald) and (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienol (Z9,E1214:OH). A fourth EAD-active compound was identified as (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:OAc). The homologue (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:OAc) was also identified in the extracts, but showed no EAD activity. The identity of all five compounds was confirmed by comparison of GC retention times and... (More)

Pheromone gland extracts from calling female Plodia interpunctella contained at least seven compounds that consistently elicited electroantennographic responses from male antennae upon gas chromatographic analysis. Three of these compounds were found to be the previously identified gland constituents, i.e., (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (Z9,E12-14:OAc), (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienal (Z9,E12-14:Ald) and (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienol (Z9,E1214:OH). A fourth EAD-active compound was identified as (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:OAc). The homologue (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:OAc) was also identified in the extracts, but showed no EAD activity. The identity of all five compounds was confirmed by comparison of GC retention times and mass spectra with those of synthetic standards. In flight tunnel tests there were no significant differences in response of male P. interpunctella to the bait containing all four EAD-active compounds and the responses to female gland extacts. A behavioural assay of different two-compound blends in the flight tunnel showed that only addition of the corresponding aldehyde to the major pheromone component Z9,E12-14:OAc raised the male response. A subtractive assay, however, revealed that the exclusion of any of the compounds from the complete four-compound blend reduced its activity significantly. We thus conclude that the female-produced sex pheromone of P. interpunctella consists of at least four components, i.e., Z9,E12-14:OAc, Z9,E12-14:Ald, Z9,E12-14:OH and Z9-14: OAc. In a field trapping test performed in a storage facility, the four-component blend attracted significantly more males of P. interpunctella than traps baited with Z9,E12-14:OAc alone. In contrast, the highest number of Ephestia kuehniella males was found in the traps baited with this major component, suggesting that the secondary pheromone components contribute to the species specificity of the blend.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Behaviour, Ephestia kuehniella, Flight tunnel, GC-EAD, Indian meal moth, Lepidoptera, Pheromone components, Plodia interpunctella, Pyralidae, Stored-product pest, Trapping
in
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
volume
92
issue
2
pages
137 - 146
publisher
Wiley
external identifiers
  • scopus:0032830686
ISSN
0013-8703
DOI
10.1046/j.1570-7458.1999.00533.x
project
Evolutionary mechanisms of pheromone divergence in Lepidoptera
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
adedda9b-ea2f-4f15-8367-a1d09425b857
date added to LUP
2020-05-26 15:29:41
date last changed
2024-01-02 11:27:41
@article{adedda9b-ea2f-4f15-8367-a1d09425b857,
  abstract     = {{<p>Pheromone gland extracts from calling female Plodia interpunctella contained at least seven compounds that consistently elicited electroantennographic responses from male antennae upon gas chromatographic analysis. Three of these compounds were found to be the previously identified gland constituents, i.e., (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (Z9,E12-14:OAc), (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienal (Z9,E12-14:Ald) and (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienol (Z9,E1214:OH). A fourth EAD-active compound was identified as (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:OAc). The homologue (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:OAc) was also identified in the extracts, but showed no EAD activity. The identity of all five compounds was confirmed by comparison of GC retention times and mass spectra with those of synthetic standards. In flight tunnel tests there were no significant differences in response of male P. interpunctella to the bait containing all four EAD-active compounds and the responses to female gland extacts. A behavioural assay of different two-compound blends in the flight tunnel showed that only addition of the corresponding aldehyde to the major pheromone component Z9,E12-14:OAc raised the male response. A subtractive assay, however, revealed that the exclusion of any of the compounds from the complete four-compound blend reduced its activity significantly. We thus conclude that the female-produced sex pheromone of P. interpunctella consists of at least four components, i.e., Z9,E12-14:OAc, Z9,E12-14:Ald, Z9,E12-14:OH and Z9-14: OAc. In a field trapping test performed in a storage facility, the four-component blend attracted significantly more males of P. interpunctella than traps baited with Z9,E12-14:OAc alone. In contrast, the highest number of Ephestia kuehniella males was found in the traps baited with this major component, suggesting that the secondary pheromone components contribute to the species specificity of the blend.</p>}},
  author       = {{Zhu, Junwei and Ryne, Camilla and Unelius, C. Rikard and Valeur, Peter G. and Löfstedt, Christer}},
  issn         = {{0013-8703}},
  keywords     = {{Behaviour; Ephestia kuehniella; Flight tunnel; GC-EAD; Indian meal moth; Lepidoptera; Pheromone components; Plodia interpunctella; Pyralidae; Stored-product pest; Trapping}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{137--146}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley}},
  series       = {{Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata}},
  title        = {{Reidentification of the female sex pheromone of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella : Evidence for a four-component pheromone blend}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1570-7458.1999.00533.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1046/j.1570-7458.1999.00533.x}},
  volume       = {{92}},
  year         = {{1999}},
}