Antennal gustatory perception and behavioural responses in Trissolcus brochymenae females.
Trissolcus brochymenae (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) is an egg parasitoid that could be used to control stink bugs like Murgantia histrionica (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), a pest of brassicaceous crops. Before laying their eggs, parasitoid females spend considerable time examining the substrate with their antennae, which are also used during feeding and mating behaviours. This suggests that contact chemoreception plays a prominent role in many aspects of parasitoid ecology. Therefore, we examined the sensitivity of antennal taste sensilla chaetica to several classical tastants including those that are appetitive or aversive. In addition we studied the taste preferences of wasps when presented with these chemicals alone or mixed. The sensilla chaetica of T. brochymenae responded to serial concentrations of sucrose, salts, and quinine, but no concentration-dependent effect was observed when testing sinigrin, a secondary metabolite found in many brassicaceae. However, both sinigrin and quinine inhibited responses to 0.1 M sucrose when mixed with this sugar. Behavioural taste preference assays confirmed that wasps showed a dose dependent preference for sucrose over agarose. In addition, a behavioural avoidance of sucrose solutions containing quinine was observed. This effect was not observed when sinigrin was used as a feeding deterrent. In the two-choice tests the wasp did not discriminate between sucrose solutions mixed with salts and sucrose alone. Further no preference for salts or sinigrin compared to agarose alone was observed. This work represents the first step towards the identification of gustatory receptor neurons implicated in the detection of different types of chemical cues in egg parasitoids.
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR iEES-Paris, 78026 Versailles Cedex, France; Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie Alimentari e Ambientali, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy.
Alessia
A
Iacovone
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie Alimentari e Ambientali, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy.
Gianandrea
G
Salerno
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR iEES-Paris, 78026 Versailles Cedex, France; AgroParisTech, Département Sciences de la Vie et Santé, 16 rue Claude Bernard, F-75231 Paris Cedex, France; CNRS, UPR 9034, Laboratoire Génomes, Evolution et Spéciation, Gif-sur-Yvette F-91198, France.
Alice Sarah
AS
French
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie Alimentari e Ambientali, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: eric.conti@unipg.it.
Eric
E
Conti
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR iEES-Paris, 78026 Versailles Cedex, France; AgroParisTech, Département Sciences de la Vie et Santé, 16 rue Claude Bernard, F-75231 Paris Cedex, France; CNRS, UPR 9034, Laboratoire Génomes, Evolution et Spéciation, Gif-sur-Yvette F-91198, France.
Frédéric
F
Marion-Poll
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005961:Glucosinolates / Q000494:pharmacology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D011803:Quinine / Q000494:pharmacology; D013395:Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology; D013649:Taste; D055697:Taste Perception; D014863:Wasps / Q000502:physiology*
D005961:Glucosinolates; C010330:sinigrin; D013395:Sucrose; D011803:Quinine
Chemoreception; Electrophysiology; Gustation; Platygastridae; Sensilla chaetica; Taste