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Identification of Volatile Compounds Used in Host Location by the Black Bean Aphid, Aphis fabae

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Abstract

Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of winged Aphis fabae to volatiles of faba bean, Vicia faba (var. Sutton dwarf), plants were studied and semiochemicals used in host location were identified. In olfactometer bioassays, aphids spent significantly more time in the region of the olfactometer where V. faba volatiles from an intact plant were present than in control regions with clean air. This response also occurred when an air entrainment sample of a V. faba plant was used as the odor source. Coupled gas chromatography–electroantennography revealed the presence of 16 electrophysiologically active compounds in the air entrainment sample. Fifteen of these were identified as (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol, (E)-2-hexenal, benzaldehyde, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, octanal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, (R)-(−)-linalool, methyl salicylate, decanal, undecanal, (E)-caryophyllene, (E)-β-farnesene, (S)-(−)-germacrene D, and (E,E,)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene. An olfactometer response was observed to a 15-component synthetic blend that comprised all identified compounds at the same concentration and ratio as in the natural sample, with the aphids spending significantly more time in the treated regions of the olfactometer where volatiles were present than in the control regions. These data are discussed in the context of insect host location and crop protection.

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Acknowledgments

Rothamsted receives grant-aided support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) of the United Kingdom. This work was supported by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK

    Ben Webster, Toby Bruce, Samuel Dufour, Claudia Birkemeyer, Michael Birkett & John Pickett

  2. Imperial College London, Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Silwood Park campus, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK

    Jim Hardie

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  1. Ben Webster
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  2. Toby Bruce
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Correspondence to Ben Webster.

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Webster, B., Bruce, T., Dufour, S. et al. Identification of Volatile Compounds Used in Host Location by the Black Bean Aphid, Aphis fabae . J Chem Ecol 34, 1153–1161 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9510-7

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