Title: | Monoterpenyl esters in juvenile mountain pine beetle and sex-specific release of the aggregation pheromone trans-verbenol |
Author(s): | Chiu CC; Keeling CI; Bohlmann J; |
Address: | "Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4. Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4. Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4; bohlmann@msl.ubc.ca. Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4" |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1091-6490 (Electronic) 0027-8424 (Print) 0027-8424 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "A recent outbreak of mountain pine beetle (MPB) has spread over more than 25 million hectares of pine forests in western North America, affecting pine species of sensitive boreal and mountain ecosystems. During initial host colonization, female MPB produce and release the aggregation pheromone trans-verbenol to coordinate a mass attack of individual trees. trans-Verbenol is formed by hydroxylation of alpha-pinene, a monoterpene of the pine oleoresin defense. It is thought that adult females produce and immediately release trans-verbenol when encountering alpha-pinene on a new host tree. Here, we show that both sexes of MPB accumulate the monoterpenyl esters verbenyl oleate and verbenyl palmitate during their development in the brood tree. Verbenyl oleate and verbenyl palmitate were retained in adult female MPB until the time of emergence from brood trees, but were depleted in males. Adult females released trans-verbenol in response to treatment with juvenile hormone III (JHIII). While both sexes produced verbenyl esters when exposed to alpha-pinene, only females responded to JHIII with release of trans-verbenol. Accumulation of verbenyl esters at earlier life stages may allow adult females to release the aggregation pheromone trans-verbenol upon landing on a new host tree, independent of access to alpha-pinene. Formation of verbenyl esters may be part of a general detoxification system to overcome host monoterpene defenses in both sexes, from which a specialized and female-specific system of pheromone biosynthesis and release may have evolved" |
Keywords: | Animals Bicyclic Monoterpenes Coleoptera/drug effects/*physiology Esters/*pharmacology Female Male Monoterpenes/*metabolism/*pharmacology Pheromones/*metabolism Pinus/*chemistry Sesquiterpenes/*pharmacology Sexual Behavior/drug effects bark beetle forest; |
Notes: | "MedlineChiu, Christine C Keeling, Christopher I Bohlmann, Joerg eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2018/03/21 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Apr 3; 115(14):3652-3657. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1722380115. Epub 2018 Mar 19" |