Pheromones emitted by both female and male moths regulate coordination between the sexes for Agriphila aeneociliella (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

The complex and efficient sex pheromone communication system in insects is essential for reproduction and for reproductive isolation of species.In moths,sex pheromone communication starts with male attraction to compounds emitted by females;only a few species act in the reverse.However,how the pheromones that are emitted by both sexes co-regulate and coordinate mate finding and mating remains unknown.Here,we identified both the male and female pheromones of Eastern Grass Veneer moth,Agriphila aeneociliella(Lepidoptera:Crambidae),and demonstrated their efficiency in manipulating behavioral responses of the opposite sex.Combining data from analysis of gas chromatography-electroantennogram detection,gas chromatography-mass spectrometry,and olfactory behavior assays,the female pheromone of A.aeneociliella was identified as(Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienal and(Z)-9-hexadecenyl acetate,while the male pheromone was determined to be 1-nonanal.Both the 2 individual components of the female pheromone and their binary mixture were significantly attractive to males,and the 1-nonanal male pheromone induced strong electrophysiological responses in females and induced attraction of females in a Y-tube olfactory test.Depending on the concentration of 1-nonanal,its addition to the binary mixture of the female pheromone either enhanced(10^(−3) or 10^(−2)μg/μL)or reduced(1μg/μL)the aphrodisiac effect of the mixture on males.In wind-tunnel bioassays,different concentrations of pheromones,including the binary mixture of female pheromone and the mixture of male and female pheromones,had significant effects on male behavior.Our findings suggested that the blend of both female and male pheromones plays a significant role in the sexual communication system in some moths.

Role of the ejaculatory bulb in biosynthesis of the male pheromone cis-vaccenyl acetate in Drosophila melanogaster

In Drosophila melanogaster,the male ejaculatory bulb is the site of synthesis of a male-specific pheromone,cis-vaccenyl acetate,which functions as both an attractant and an anti-aphrodisiac.This long monounsaturated acetate is structurally similar to a number of shorter gland-synthesized moth pheromones.The cell monolayer that forms the Drosophila male ejaculatory bulb wall is responsible for the production and secretion of cis-vaccenyl acetate into the seminal fluid.When dissected bulbs were incubated with sodium[14-C]-acetate(or deuterated acetate),a labeled acetate ester was synthesized.The labeled acetate ester co-migrated with cis-vaccenyl acetate in thin layer chromatography.Incubation of the abdomens of males from which the ejaculatory bulbs had been removed,or the abdomens of females,with radiolabeled acetate did not yield any acetate ester,but did yield other lipid products,including hydrocarbons.When the isolated labeled acetate ester was hydrolyzed,no radioactive vaccenol was formed.This strongly suggests that the acetyl group is incorporated via a transacetylation reaction,but that the vaccenyl moiety is not synthetized in the blub.The transacetylation enzyme activity was localized in the microsomal subfraction of the bulb homogenate,and its affinity for vaccenol was not very different from that reported for monounsaturated alcohol substrates in moths.