title: Mimicking insect communication: release and detection of pheromone, biosynthesized by an alcohol acetyl transferase immobilized in a microreactor.
abstract: Infochemical production, release and detection of (Z,E)-9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate, the major component of the pheromone of the moth Spodoptera littoralis, is achieved in a novel microfluidic system designed to mimic the final step of the pheromone biosynthesis by immobilized recombinant alcohol acetyl transferase. The microfluidic system is part of an "artificial gland", i.e., a chemoemitter that comprises a microreactor connected to a microevaporator and is able to produce and release a pre-defined amount of the major component of the pheromone from the corresponding (Z,E)-9,11-tetradecadienol. Performance of the entire chemoemitter has been assessed in electrophysiological and behavioral experiments. Electroantennographic depolarizations of the pheromone produced by the chemoemitter were ca. 40% relative to that evoked by the synthetic pheromone. In a wind tunnel, the pheromone released from the evaporator elicited on males a similar attraction behavior as 3 virgin females in most of the parameters considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Modeling, IQAC (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Nikolay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dimov
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carot-Sans
authors.forename: Wojciech P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Bula
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guerrero
authors.forename: Han J G E
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Gardeniers
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010675:Pheromones / Q000737:chemistry*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000737:chemistry*; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C505894:(9Z, 11E)-tetradecadienyl acetate; D010675:Pheromones; D012724:Sex Attractants