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Pharmacological analysis of feeding in a caterpillar: different transduction pathways for umami and saccharin?

Naturwissenschaften volume 96, pages 621–624 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Neonate larvae of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), modify their behavior in the presence of saccharin, monosodium glutamate (MSG), or L(+)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (L-AP4) by commencing their feeding earlier. Previously published pharmacological analysis demonstrated that phagostimulatory effects of MSG and L-AP4 (which elicit umami taste sensation in humans) are reversed by adenylate cyclase activator and phosphodiesterase inhibitor. In this study, by measuring the time needed to start ingestion of foliage treated with mixtures of phagostimulants and signal transduction modulators, we show that phagostimulatory effects of l-aspartate (the third hallmark umami substance) are also abolished by both adenylate cyclase activator and phosphodiesterase inhibitor, but not by phospholipase C inhibitor. However, stimulatory effects of hemicalcium saccharin were affected only by phospholipase C inhibitor. The results suggest that codling moth neonates use different transduction pathways for perception of hemicalcium saccharin and umami.

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Acknowledgments

We thank John Avery (MSU Department of Agriculture) and Pauline Anderson and Jim Harris (USDA laboratory Wapato, WA) for technical support. A part of this paper was supported by Missouri State University Faculty Research Grant, FY 2007. The experiments comply with the current law in the USA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agriculture, Missouri State University, 9740 Red Spring Road, Mountain Grove, MO, 65711, USA

    Maciej A. Pszczolkowski, Kevin Durden & Juleah Marquis

  2. Agricultural Research Programs, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Sonny B. Ramaswamy

  3. Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA

    John J. Brown

Authors
  1. Maciej A. Pszczolkowski
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  2. Kevin Durden
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  3. Juleah Marquis
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  4. Sonny B. Ramaswamy
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  5. John J. Brown
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Correspondence to Maciej A. Pszczolkowski.

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Pszczolkowski, M.A., Durden, K., Marquis, J. et al. Pharmacological analysis of feeding in a caterpillar: different transduction pathways for umami and saccharin?. Naturwissenschaften 96, 621–624 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-008-0505-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-008-0505-6

Keywords

  • Codling moth
  • Cydia pomonella
  • Taste
  • Chemoreception
  • Signal transduction
  • Feeding
  • Phagostimulants