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Electrophysiological and Behavioral Activity of Secondary Metabolites in the Confused Flour Beetle, Tribolium confusum

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Abstract

Several previous studies have addressed pheromone communication in various flour beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), including the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum (du Val). Different stereoisomers of 4,8-dimethyldecanal (DMD) were reported as the only components of an aggregation pheromone, but the behavioral activity of DMD is low. In the present study, additional previously reported secondary metabolites (benzoquinones and hydrocarbons) were tested for electrophysiological activity (EAG) with both sexes of T. confusum. Two benzoquinones and three monoenic hydrocarbons elicited significant EAG activity from both male and female antennae. There was an elevated male EAG response (vs. the females) to two out of the three hydrocarbons and for both quinones. The EAG-active compounds were subsequently investigated for behavioral activity in a walking bioassay. Benzoquinones are considered toxic and have been assigned a function as alarm substances in flour beetles, but we found that methyl-1, 4-benzoquinone in intermediate concentrations was attractive to both male and female beetles and could therefore act as an aggregation pheromone component. Males were also attracted to ethyl-1,4-benzoquinone. The corresponding hydroquinones, presumed precursors of the benzoquinones, did not elicit any electrophysiological response and were not tested for behavioral activity. The unsaturated hydrocarbons (1-tetradecene, 1-pentadecene, and 1-hexadecene) elicited significant EAG responses from both male and female antennae and were also attractive in the behavioral assay. Our results show that several beetle-produced compounds, in addition to 4,8-dimethyldecanal, may be part of a complex pheromone system in flour beetles and play a role in mediating aggregation in T. confusum.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA), the Cerealia R&D Foundation and Erasmus for funding this project. We thank Amano Enzyme Inc., Japan, for a generous gift of lipases. We are also grateful to Dr. Y. Brostaux (Department of Statistic and Computer Sciences, Gembloux Agricultural University) for his advice on statistical analysis. Ludovic Arnaud was funded by the FNRS (Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique), OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Lund University, Ecology building, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden

    F. Verheggen, C. Ryne, P.-O. C. Olsson, L. Arnaud & C. Löfstedt

  2. Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agricultural University, B-5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    F. Verheggen, L. Arnaud & E. Haubruge

  3. Department of General and Organic Chemistry, Gembloux Agricultural University, B-5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    G. Lognay

  4. Department of Natural Science, Mid Sweden University, SE-851 70, Sundsvall, Sweden

    H.-E. Högberg & D. Persson

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  1. F. Verheggen
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  2. C. Ryne
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  3. P.-O. C. Olsson
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  4. L. Arnaud
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  9. C. Löfstedt
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Correspondence to C. Löfstedt.

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Verheggen, F., Ryne, C., Olsson, PO.C. et al. Electrophysiological and Behavioral Activity of Secondary Metabolites in the Confused Flour Beetle, Tribolium confusum . J Chem Ecol 33, 525–539 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9236-3

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