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. 2017 Dec 29;12(12):e0190454.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190454. eCollection 2017.

Antennal olfactory responses of adult meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius, to volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Giacinto Salvatore Germinara  1 , Sonia Ganassi  2 , Marco O Pistillo  1 , Carmela Di Domenico  2 , Antonio De Cristofaro  2 , Antonella Marta Di Palma  1
Affiliations

Antennal olfactory responses of adult meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius, to volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Giacinto Salvatore Germinara et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius L. (Hemiptera, Aphrophoridae) is a commonly found vector of Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al. (1987) strain subspecies pauca associated with the "Olive Quick Decline Syndrome" in Italy. To contribute to the knowledge of the adult P. spumarius chemoreceptivity, electroantennographic (EAG) responses of both sexes to 50 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including aliphatic aldehydes, alcohols, esters, and ketones, terpenoids, and aromatics were recorded. Measurable EAG responses were elicited by all compounds tested. In both sexes, octanal, 2-octanol, 2-decanone, (E)-2-hexenyl acetate, and vanillin elicited the strongest antennal amplitude within the chemical groups of aliphatic saturated aldehydes, aliphatic alcohols, aliphatic acetates and aromatics, respectively. Male and female EAG responses to sulcatol, (±)linalool, and sulcatone were higher than those to other terpenoinds. In both sexes, the weakest antennal stimulants were phenethyl alcohol and 2-pentanone. Sexual differences in the EAG amplitude were found only for four of test compounds suggesting a general similarity between males and females in antennal sensitivity. The olfactory system of both sexes proved to be sensitive to changes in stimulus concentration, carbon chain length, and compound structure. Compounds with short carbon chain length (C5-C6) elicited lower EAG amplitudes than compounds with higher carbon chain length (C9-C10) in all classes of aliphatic hydrocarbons with different functional groups. The elucidation of the sensitivity profile of P. spumarius to a variety of VOCs provides a basis for future identification of behaviorally-active compounds useful for developing semiochemical-based control strategies of this pest.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Philaenus spumarius SEM: Antenna.
A) Overview of the antenna composed by three segments: scape, pedicel and the long flagellum. B) Closer dorsal view of the scape, pedicel and proximal larger region of the flagellum bearing the three basiconic sensilla. C) Enlargement of the basal region of the flagellum showing the basiconic (BS) and coeloconicum sensilla (arrows) located on the side facing the compound eyes (adaxial surface) when the antenna is inserted on the head. D) Detail of the coeloconicum sensilla showing the microtrichia guarding the opening (arrows) of the pits. E) Detail of the regular cuticular scales covering the elongated thread-like part of the flagellum. Abbr.: BS, basiconic sensillum; SC, scape; PE, pedicel; Fl, flagellum; Scale bar: 500 μm (A); 100 μm (B); 50 μm (C); 10 μm (D); 30 μm (E).
Fig 2
Fig 2. EAG dose-response curves of female and male antennae of P. spumarius adults to ascending doses of (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol.
Fig 3
Fig 3. EAG response profile of adult P. spumarius to a range of VOCs.
Within each chemical group, compounds are listed according to the mean amplitude of the EAG response (n = 8) elicited at the 100 μg dose.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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