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Single Sensillum responses in the male mothAdoxophyes orana (F.v.R.) to female sex pheromone components and their geometrical isomers

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Summary

A technique is described for the recording of receptor and action potentials from the outer dendritic segments of the olfactory cells in individual antennalSensilla trichodea in insects. The 50 μm long olfactory hairs on the antennae of adult male summerfruit toftrix moth,Adoxophyes orana, are shown to possess two cells responsive to the female sex pheromone (a 9∶1 mixture ofcis-9 andcis-11-TDA (= tetradecen-1-ol acetate)). One of these cells (typeB) is sensitive tocis-9-TDA, the other (type A) mainly responds tocis-11-TDA and, to a much smaller extent, tocis-9-TDA. The behavioural inhibitorstrans-9 andtrans-11-TDA evoke small responses in both cells, which may have been caused by contamination of these substances by thecis isomers (Fig. 6).

It appears that the pheromone receptor cells are not ‘tuned’ to the optimal 9∶1 mixture (Fig. 7). Hence, the attractiveness of the pheromone should be determined in the central nervous system by comparison of the responses from theA andB cells.

A rough calculation indicates that the males are very well able to discriminate between different mixture ratios. It is suggested that thecis-9-/cis-11-TDA ratio excreted by the females shows a considerable variation.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Groningen State University, Haren, The Netherlands

    C. J. Den Otter

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I am much indebted to Prof. Dr. D. Schneider for the use of facilities in his laboratory at the Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie, Seewiesen (Federal Republic of Germany), and to all colleagues at this laboratory, especially Dr. K.-E. Kaissling, for their help. I am also grateful to Dr. F.W. Maes, Department of Zoology, State University of Groningen (Netherlands), for many discussions and his very valuable suggestions and help. I thank Drs. A.K. Minks and S. Voerman, Laboratory for Research on Insecticides, Wageningen (Netherlands), for the supply of the maleA. orana pupae and the chemicals; Mrs. C. Huss-Hahn, Mrs. G.W. De Vries-Nijboer and Miss M.J. Den Otter for technical assistance; Mr. D. Visser for preparing the figures; and Dr. G. Thomas for correcting the English text and constructive criticism. The investigations were supported by the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung and the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (ZWO).

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Den Otter, C.J. Single Sensillum responses in the male mothAdoxophyes orana (F.v.R.) to female sex pheromone components and their geometrical isomers. J. Comp. Physiol. 121, 205–222 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00609612

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