Sex pheromone biosynthesis in the tortricid moth, Ctenopseustis herana (Felder & Rogenhofer)

✍ Scribed by S.P. Foster; W.L. Roelofs

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 747 KB
• Volume: 33
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0739-4462
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6327(1996)33:2<135::aid-arch4>3.0.co;2-x

✦ Synopsis

Biosynthesis of the unusual sex pheromone component (4-5-tetradecenyl acetate (25-1 4:OAc) was studied in the tortricid moth, Ctenopseustis herana (Felder & Rogenhofer), by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis of the pheromone gland, and topical application of various deuterium-labelled acids to the gland. The only unusual unsaturated FAME found in base-methanolyzed glands of females was the putative precursor of the pheromone, methyl (4-5-tetradecenoate (25-1 4:Me). When deuterium-labelled, myristic, palmitic, stearic, lauric, and oleic acids were applied to the gland, label was incorporated into the pheromone component only from the first three acids (i.e., Z5-14:OAc could not be biosynthesized from lauric or oleic acids). Furthermore, the amount of label incorporated from the first three acids decreased in the order myristic > palmitic > stearic. Application of labelled myristic acid to the gland resulted in incorporation of label into 25-14:Me. These data are consistent with the biosynthesis of Z5-14:OAc in C. herana resulting from A5-desaturation of myristic acid, a novel biosynthetic route for a moth sex pheromone component. Regulation of pheromone biosynthesis in this species was also investigated. Decapitation of female C. herana resulted in a significant decline in sex pheromone titre. Injection of female head extract or synthetic Bombyx mori pheromone biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide (PBAN) into decapitated female C. herana gave a significant increase in pheromone titre, suggesting that pheromone biosynthesis in this species is regulated by a PBAN or PBAN-like substance. o 1996 WiIey-Liss, Inc.