Orientation of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) to Plant-Host Volatiles in a Novel Diffusion-Cage Olfactometer.
A novel diffusion-cage olfactometer tested the responses of Anopheles gambiae Giles to plant volatiles. Green-leaf volatiles are often released from cut or injured plant tissue and may alter the headspace of plants used in olfactometer assays. The diffusion-cage olfactometer is designed for use with whole, intact plants, hence giving a more realistic behavioral assay. Its simple plastic construction, ease of assembly, and accommodation to whole plants makes it a useful tool for measuring mosquito orientation to plant volatiles within large enclosures. We compared its performance to that of the more commonly used T-tube wind-tunnel olfactometer, by testing the orientation of mosquitoes to volatiles of a few prevalent plants of eastern Africa reportedly utilized by An. gambiae for sugar: Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae), Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae), Lantana camara (Verbenaceae), and Senna occidentalis (Fabaceae). Results indicate that the diffusion-cage olfactometer is an effective alternative to conventional wind-tunnel olfactometers, to test mosquito orientation to plant volatiles under seminatural conditions.
The Ohio State University, 318W 12th Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210 (potienoburu@jcsu.edu; nik.nikbakht@gmail.com; foster.13@osu.edu), Johnson C. Smith University, 100 Beatties Ford Rd., Charlotte, NC 28216, and potienoburu@jcsu.edu.
Philip E
PE
Otienoburu
The Ohio State University, 318W 12th Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210 (potienoburu@jcsu.edu; nik.nikbakht@gmail.com; foster.13@osu.edu), Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of California Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616.
Mahmood R
MR
Nikbakhtzadeh
The Ohio State University, 318W 12th Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210 (potienoburu@jcsu.edu; nik.nikbakht@gmail.com; foster.13@osu.edu).
Woodbridge A
WA
Foster
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry; D064367:Olfactometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
Anopheles gambiae; olfactometer; plant attractant; plant volatile; screenhouse