| Title: | "Racemic Pheromone Blends Disrupt Mate Location in the Invasive Swede Midge, Contarinia nasturtii" |
| Author(s): | Hodgdon EA; Hallett RH; Wallin KF; Stratton CA; Chen YH; |
| Address: | "Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont, 63 Carrigan Dr., Burlington, VT, 05405, USA. elisabeth.hodgdon@gmail.com. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada. Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, 81 Carrigan Dr., Burlington, VT, 05405, USA. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 707 Spear St., South Burlington, VT, 05403, USA. Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont, 63 Carrigan Dr., Burlington, VT, 05405, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-019-01078-0 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Swede midge, Contarinia nasturtii Kieffer, is an invasive cecidomyiid pest that causes serious losses of Brassica oilseed and vegetable crops in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada. Currently, few alternatives to systemic insecticides exist for its management. Because a single feeding larva can render heading Brassica crops unmarketable, management strategies that prevent oviposition are needed urgently. Pheromone-mediated mating disruption is a promising management approach for swede midge because it prevents mating and subsequent crop damage. While the swede midge pheromone has been identified, one of the major barriers to using it in mating disruption is the high cost of synthesis. Racemic blends, consisting of natural and non-natural stereoisomers, could be useful for mating disruption because they are cheaper to produce. However, it is not clear whether racemic pheromone blends attract males and/or prevent them from locating and mating with females. Here, we studied the behavior of male swede midge in Y-tube and wind tunnel bioassays to pheromone blends. Specifically, we tested whether males: (1) are attracted to different doses of pheromone, (2) discriminate between blends comprising natural stereospecific or racemic components, or a combination thereof, and (3) are able to locate and copulate with females in pheromone-permeated olfactometers. We found that picogram amounts of pheromone attracted males and prevented them from locating females in y-tube olfactometers. While males were more attracted to stereospecific blends, compared to racemic blends, all blends tested prevented nearly all males mating with females. Therefore, low dose racemic blends may be promising for pheromone-mediated mating disruption" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Diptera/growth & development/*physiology Female Introduced Species Male Reproduction/drug effects Sex Attractants/*chemistry/pharmacology Sexual Behavior, Animal/drug effects Stereoisomerism Cecidomyiidae Mating disruption Pheromone Reproduction S;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineHodgdon, Elisabeth A Hallett, Rebecca H Wallin, Kimberly F Stratton, Chase A Chen, Yolanda H eng 2014-70006-22525/National Institute of Food and Agriculture/ 2019/06/24 J Chem Ecol. 2019 Jul; 45(7):549-558. doi: 10.1007/s10886-019-01078-0. Epub 2019 Jun 22" |
