Michal Hoskovec

Pheromone Analyses of the Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) Cryptic Species Complex

ABSTRACT The South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) cryptic species complex is presently one of the most studied pest models in terms of speciation and population mating compatibility. The improvement of pest-control techniques has strongly relied on successful implementation of laboratory strains into wild populations. Pheromone communication plays an important role in the mating process in the South American fruit fly. Therefore, the main goal of the present study was to investigate the pheromone composition of 7 different populations, originating from geographically distant locations in Brazil and Argentina. Fourteen volatile compounds were identified in calling male emanations by GC×GC/TOF-MS and the data obtained were subsequently analyzed by multivariate statistics. The pheromone composition varied both quantitatively and qualitatively among the studied populations. These results will serve as the basis for further electrophysiological analyses.

GC × GC/TOF MS technique—A new tool in identification of insect pheromones: Analysis of the persimmon bark borer sex pheromone gland

Conventional gas chromatography with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and two-dimensional (GCxGC) gas chromatography using a time-of-flight mass spectrometric detector (TOFMS), were combined to analyse the female sex pheromone gland extract of the persimmon bark borer, Euzophera batangensis. GC-EAD analysis produced two EAD responses in GC areas where no compounds were detected by FID detection. GCxGC/TOFMS analysis of this area indicated the presence of several chemicals, including (Z9,E12)-tetradeca-9,12-dien-1-ol and (Z9)-tetradec-9-en-1-ol, pheromone components of closely related Euzophera species. Spectral characteristics, retention behaviour and the ability to elicit GC-EAD responses imply that both identified unsaturated alcohols are candidates for E. batangensis sex pheromone components. GCxGC/TOFMS facilitated the analysis of complex matrices on a subnanogram level and was shown to have great potential as a powerful tool in the analysis of insect pheromones.

Sex Pheromone of Horse-Chestnut Leafminer Cameraria ohridella and Its Use in a Pheromone-Based Monitoring System

Gas chromatography combined with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD), electroantennography (EAG), and wind-tunnel and field experiments were used to reinvestigate the composition of Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Lithocolletinae) sex pheromone. The GC-EAD experiments showed one EAD-active area corresponding to the major pheromone component, (8E,10Z)-tetradeca-8,10-dienal. The EAG experiments proved that (9E)-tetracedecenal and stereoisomers of (8E,10Z)-tetradeca-8,10-dienal exhibited significant electrophysiological activity and could, therefore, be considered as possible minor pheromone components. However, wind-tunnel and field experiments demonstrated that none of these compounds affect the efficacy of the main pheromone component. A monitoring system based on (8E,10Z)-tetradeca-8,10-dienal was developed and used to study the flight activity of C. ohridella.

Resolution of three cryptic agricultural pests (Ceratitis fasciventris, C. anonae, C. rosa, Diptera: Tephritidae) using cuticular hydrocarbon profiling.

Discrimination of particular species within the species complexes of tephritid fruit flies is a very challenging task. In this fruit-fly family, several complexes of cryptic species have been reported, including the African cryptic species complex (FAR complex). Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) appear to be an excellent tool for chemotaxonomical discrimination of these cryptic species. In the present study, CHC profiles have been used to discriminate among three important agricultural pests from the FAR complex, Ceratitis fasciventris, Ceratitis anonae and Ceratitis rosa. Hexane body surface extracts of mature males and females were analyzed by two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection and differences in CHC profiles between species and sexes tested through multivariate statistics and compared with species identification by means of microsatellite markers. Quantitative as well as qualitative CHC profile differences between sexes and species are reported. The CHC profiles consisted of a mixture of linear, internally methyl-branched and mono-, di- and tri-unsaturated alkanes. Twelve compounds were pinpointed as potential chemotaxonomical markers. The present study shows that presence or absence of particular CHCs might be used in the chemical diagnosis of the FAR complex. Moreover, our results represent an important first step in the development of a useful chemotaxonomic tool for cryptic species identification of these important agricultural pests.

Are the wild and laboratory insect populations different in semiochemical emission? The case of the medfly sex pheromone.

The medfly (Ceratitis capitata) is one of the major agricultural pests controlled through sterile insect technique (SIT) programs. We studied the chemical composition of the volatiles released by calling males from one laboratory and two wild C. capitata populations using two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection (GC × GC/TOFMS) and gas chromatography with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD). Multivariate data analyses revealed significant differences in the quantitative and qualitative composition of male chemical emanations between the three populations. The GC-EAD analyses of the male emanation of three C. capitata populations revealed 14 antenally active compounds. The volatiles isomenthone, β-pinene, ethyl octanoate, indole, geraniol, bornyl acetate, geranyl acetone, and (E)-caryophyllene are newly reported EAD active constituents of the male pheromone. GC-EAD analyses of the laboratory population indicated that the males and females of C. capitata possess comparable sensitivity to male-produced volatiles. Our results are relevant to the development of a pheromone-based monitoring system and also to the SIT control program.

Biotransformations of γ-methyl-β-ketosulfones: stereoselectivity of 3-methyl-1-(phenylsulfonyl)hexan-2-one reductions by various yeasts

Abstract The stereoselectivity of the reduction of rac-3-methyl-1-(phenylsulfonyl)hexan-2-one (1) to 3-methyl-1-(phenylsulfonyl)hexan-2-ol (2) diastereomers by more than 20 yeasts was studied. Reduction of carbonyl group in 1 proceeds with a high Re-face enantioselectivity: Candida guillermondii (989% e.e.), C. zeylanoides (>99.9%) and Kloeckera apiculata (99.6%), respectively and the (R)- 1 enantiomer usually reacted faster. The enantioselectivity was determined by GC on chiral cyclodextrine phases and absolute configurations of products were assigned by NMR spectroscopy and a chemical correlation.

Efficient syntheses of (10E,12Z,15Z)-9-oxo- and (9Z,11E,15E)-13-oxo-octadecatrienoic acids - two stress metabolites of wounded plants

Configurationally pure 9-oxo-10E,12Z,15Z- and 13-oxo-9Z,11E,15E-octadecatrienoic acid are available from linolenic acid via regioselective functionalisation using lipoxygenases from soybean or tomato at specific pH conditions. Reduction of the resulting hydroperoxides followed by oxidation of the resulting allylic alcohols with Bobbitts reagent yields the configurationally pure but labile ketotrienoic acids 4 and 5 without concomitant isomerisation.

Gas chromatographic determination of vapour pressures of pheromone-like compounds IV. Acetates, a reinvestigation

Abstract The equilibrium vapour pressures P and enthalpies of vaporization ΔH for an acetate series with carbon numbers varying from 10 to 18 were determined using a GC technique. The P and ΔH quantities at 298.15 K were calculated for more than 100 (un)saturated linear-chain compounds based on the experimental retention time measurements of the test acetates and five reference alkane standards with known vapour pressures. The advantage of utilizing several standards in the GC based vapour pressure determinations was demonstrated by comparison with previously published data. Additionally, empirical equations were developed for correlating 1n P and ΔH with the number of carbon atoms ( N ) and double bond positions (Δ) in the chain. It was shown that with these two-parameter equations the vapour pressures of acetates can be predicted with a considerable degree of confidence. In the case of E 2-, E 3- and Z 4-alkenyl acetate isomers, however, anomalies in retention time/vapour pressure-structure relationships were observed, indicating specific types of polar interactions.

Biosynthesis of sex pheromones in moths: stereochemistry of fatty alcohol oxidation in Manduca sexta

Abstract Six chiral deuterium labelled metabolic probes, (R) and (S)-enantiomers of [1,10,10-2H3]-hexadecan-1-ol, (11E)-[1,10,10-2H3]-hexadec-11-en-1-ol and (11Z)-[1,10,10-2H3]-hexadec-11-en-1-ol, were synthesized to examine the stereospecificity of the fatty alcohol oxidase from the female pheromone gland of the tobacco hawk moth (Manduca sexta, Sphingidae). Both in vitro and in vivo oxidations were found to proceed by selective removal of the C1–HR hydrogen or deuterium atom (Re-specificity) to yield the corresponding aldehydes. (R) and (S)-enantiomers of deuterium labelled salicyl alcohol and 2-thienyl-methanol, compounds entirely chemically diverse from the natural pheromone precursors, were also oxidised Re-specifically to salicylaldehyde and 2-thiophenecarb-aldehyde, respectively.

New mimics of the acetate function in pheromone-based attraction

Several analogues of (Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate (1a), the major pheromone component of the Oriental fruit moth, Cydia molesta, with chloroformate and lactone functional groups in place of the acetate moiety, were synthesized and investigated for their biological activity at four evaluation levels, i.e. by electroantennography (EAG), electrosensillography (ESG), short-range sexual stimulation and activation in the flight-tunnel. We found very strict requirements on the shape as well as on the electron distribution of the acetate group for a productive interaction with the receptor. The behavioral results showed that, among the analogues investigated, the chloroformate 1b, alken-4-olide 2a and also dodecyl acetate (1c) possess significant (60-85%) inhibitory activities. Based on electrophysiological evidence demonstrating that (i) only 1b is competing with the major pheromone component 1a for the same receptor sites on the male antennal sensilla, (ii) 1c elicits moderate EAG but no ESG responses and (iii) 2a does not produce any electrophysiological response at all, three possible inhibitory mechanisms by which these analogues are acting could be distinguished.