title: Electrophysiological studies and identification of possible sex pheromone components of Brazilian populations of the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis.
abstract: Virgin female gland extracts of sugarcane moth Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), from three locations in Brazil, have been analyzed. By GC-MS analysis and comparison of the chromatographic retention time of the components of the pheromone gland with those retention times of synthetic standards, we observed the presence of (Z)-hexadec-11-enal (1), hexadecanal (2), (9E,11Z)-hexadecadienal (4), (9Z,11Z)-hexadecadienal (5) and (9E,11E)-hexadecadienal (6), as minor components besides the major constituent (9Z,11E)-hexadecadienal (3) already reported. We found no variations in the composition of the gland extracts deriving from the three Brazilian populations and only two compounds, (Z)-hexadec-11-enal (1) and (9Z,11E)-hexadecadienal (3), elicited antennal responses (GC-EAD). In electroantennography (EAG), however, pure compounds 1 and 3, a binary mixture containing 1 and 3, and a mixture containing all of the six synthetic compounds 1-6 elicited a depolarization in male antennae of D. saccharalis, without any statistically different delay. The EAG responses to the other isomers of 9,11-hexadecadienal were small and not significantly different from the control, except for the (9Z,11Z)-isomer (5) which showed an relatively strong electroantennal activity.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciane G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Batista-Pereira
authors.forename: Ellen M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Santangelo
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: C Rikard
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Unelius
authors.forename: Alvaro E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Eiras
authors.forename: Arlene G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Corrêa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D012724:Sex Attractants