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Oviposition Deterrents in Larval Frass of Potato Tuberworm Moth, Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

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Abstract

The potato tuberworm moth (PTM) Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most damaging pests of potato Solanum tuberosum L. in warm temperate and subtropical areas. Our previous experiment showed that extracts of larval frass of PTM deterred oviposition of conspecific females. In this study, we investigated the identification of chemicals in larval frass that were influencing the oviposition of PTM by behavioral bioassays and electroantennography analysis in the laboratory. Frass was collected from third and fourth instar larvae and combined analysis of gas chromatography coupled with electroantennography (GC-EAD) of dichloromethane extracts showed that eight compounds from larval frass extracts elicited repeatable antennal responses from mated females. Seven EAD-active compounds in frass volatile extract were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as linoleic acid, octadecanoic acid, tricosane, pentacosane, heptacosane, nonacosane, and cholesterol. Oviposition bioassays indicated that frass extracts had a deterrent effect on egg laying, the deterrent activity increased with the concentration of frass extracts, and the threshold value for statistical significance in oviposition deterrence was in the range of 20–200 mg frass per cage. Linoleic acid, pentacosane, heptacosane, nonacosane, and cholesterol in larval frass volatiles were found to play a key role in repelling oviposition in a dose-dependent manner. We suggest that the bioactive compounds in larval frass are responsible for repelling oviposition of PTM, and n-alkanes, especially pentacosane, strongly deter oviposition and may be considered as a potential oviposition deterrent for potential applications.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Zhen Yu (Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for technical analysis of the compounds of larval frass extracts using GC-MS. We also thank Xiaojiao Zhang, Yang Li, and Xingyong Zhou for their help with collecting and rearing the insects.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31560607).

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Author notes

  1. X G Zhang and X Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in Yunnan, College of Plant Protection, Yunnan Agricultural Univ, Kunming, 650201, China

    X G Zhang, X Li, Y Liu, W X Dong & C Xiao

  2. State Key Lab for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China

    Y L Gao

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  1. X G Zhang
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  2. X Li
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  3. Y L Gao
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  4. Y Liu
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  5. W X Dong
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  6. C Xiao
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Contributions

WXD, CX and YLG conceived the study. XGZ, XL, and YL performed experiments. XGZ and XL conducted data analyses. XGZ wrote the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to W X Dong.

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Edited by Eugenio E de Oliveira – UFV

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Zhang, X.G., Li, X., Gao, Y.L. et al. Oviposition Deterrents in Larval Frass of Potato Tuberworm Moth, Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Neotrop Entomol 48, 496–502 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-018-0655-y

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