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Identification and Characterization of the Pheromones in the Minute Pirate Bug Orius sauteri (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae)

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Abstract

The flower bug Orius sauteri is a generalist predator that occurs throughout Japan, and is a promising indigenous natural enemy for micro-pests such as thrips, aphids, and spider mites. We aimed to manipulate the attraction, dispersal, and settlement behavior of Orius bugs using natural chemical substances emitted by the bugs themselves. To identify potential candidates, we screened components in the whole-body extract of O. sauteri based on antennal response and then determined their chemical structure. A gas chromatograph electroantennographic detector (GC/EAD) indicated that the antennae of males responded to two components in the extract of females. GC/mass spectrometry (MS) showed that these two components were octenal and octadienal. Derivatization or GC-FT-IR analysis identified these components as (E)-2-octenal and (E)-2,7-octadienal. To assess the effect of these components on O. sauteri behavior, we conducted two assays. A field bioassay demonstrated that a blend of the two components functioned as a sex pheromone, and a dispersal assay showed that (E)-2-octenal generated a dose-dependent dispersal response. Our study will provide baseline information for enhancing the retention of O. sauteri on important commercial crops to prey on pest species.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Shigeru Matsuyama at the University of Tsukuba for his kind advice on the synthesis of octadienal and Dr. Nobuyuki Akai and Mr. Masazumi Hayashi at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology for supporting the GC/FT-IR analysis. We also thank Mr. Kouhei Terada and Mr. Tomofumi Shibata for supporting the field bioassay. This project was supported by a research grant from the Japan Prize Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Insect Sciences, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, NARO, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8634, Japan

    Takuya Uehara, Taro Maeda & Masami Shimoda

  2. Division of Applied Entomology and Zoology, Central Region Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8666, Japan

    Nao Fujiwara-Tsujii & Hiroe Yasui

Authors
  1. Takuya Uehara
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  2. Taro Maeda
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  3. Masami Shimoda
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  4. Nao Fujiwara-Tsujii
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  5. Hiroe Yasui
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takuya Uehara.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary Fig. 1

Comparison of the attractiveness of 2,7-octadienals synthesized by different pathways. Number of catches were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U-test (N = 8, P = 0.8282). (PPTX 80 kb)

Supplementary Fig. 2

Schematic diagram of dispersal assay. (PPTX 73 kb)

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Uehara, T., Maeda, T., Shimoda, M. et al. Identification and Characterization of the Pheromones in the Minute Pirate Bug Orius sauteri (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae). J Chem Ecol 45, 811–817 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-019-01104-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-019-01104-1

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