| Title: | "Larval Diet Affects Male Pheromone Blend in a Laboratory Strain of the Medfly, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)" |
| Author(s): | Merli D; Mannucci B; Bassetti F; Corana F; Falchetto M; Malacrida AR; Gasperi G; Scolari F; |
| Address: | "Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100, Pavia, Italy. Centro Grandi Strumenti, University of Pavia, Via Bassi 21, 27100, Pavia, Italy. Department of Mathematics, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 5, 27100, Pavia, Italy. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100, Pavia, Italy. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100, Pavia, Italy. francesca.scolari@unipv.it" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-018-0939-z |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata is a polyphagous pest of fruits and crops with a worldwide distribution. Its ability to use different larval hosts may have multiple effects, including impacts on adult reproductive biology. The male sex pheromone, which plays a key role in attracting both other males to lekking arenas and females for mating, is a mixture of chemical compounds including esters, acids, alkanes and terpenes known to differ between laboratory strains and wild-type populations. The relationship between larval diet and adult pheromone composition remains unexplored. Here, we investigated the effect of larval diet, including laboratory media and fresh fruits, on the composition of the male pheromone mixture. Using Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction we collected the pheromone emitted by males reared as larvae on different substrates and found both qualitative and quantitative differences. A number of alkanes appeared to be typical of the pheromone of males reared on wheat bran-based larval medium, and these may be cuticular hydrocarbons involved in chemical communication. We also detected differences in pheromone composition related to adult male age, suggesting that variations in hormonal levels and/or adult diet could also play a role in determining the chemical profile emitted. Our findings highlight the plasticity of dietary responses of C. capitata, which may be important in determining the interactions of this pest with the environment and with conspecifics. These results also have applied relevance to increase the mating competitiveness of mass-reared C. capitata used in Sterile Insect Technique programs" |
| Keywords: | Aging Animals Ceratitis capitata/growth & development/metabolism *Diet Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Larva/chemistry/metabolism Male Principal Component Analysis Sex Attractants/*chemistry/isolation & purification Solid Phase Microextraction Volati; |
| Notes: | "MedlineMerli, Daniele Mannucci, Barbara Bassetti, Federico Corana, Federica Falchetto, Marco Malacrida, Anna R Gasperi, Giuliano Scolari, Francesca eng 'IMPROVE'/Fondazione Cariplo (IT) - Regione Lombardia/ 2018/03/06 J Chem Ecol. 2018 Apr; 44(4):339-353. doi: 10.1007/s10886-018-0939-z. Epub 2018 Mar 5" |
