Emission of Alarm Pheromone in Aphids: a Non-Contagious Phenomenon

• Published in: Journal of chemical ecology Vol. 34; no. 9; pp. 1146 - 1148
• Main Authors: Verheggen, F. J, Mescher, M. C, Haubruge, E, Moraes, C. M, Schwartzberg, E. G
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: New York New York : Springer-Verlag 01-09-2008; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
• Subjects: (E)-β-farnesene; Acyrthosiphon pisum; Agriculture; Agriculture & agronomie; Agriculture & agronomy; Alarm pheromone; alarm pheromones; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Aphid; Aphids - growth & development; Aphids - metabolism; Aphids - physiology; Autoecology; avoidance behavior; Avoidance Learning - drug effects; Avoidance Learning - physiology; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Microscopy; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chemical ecology; Conspecifics; Ecology; Emissions; Entomologie & lutte antiravageur; Entomology; Entomology & pest control; farnesene; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; insect behavior; Insects; Life Sciences; pheromone emission; Pheromones; Pheromones - pharmacology; Pheromones - secretion; Plant ecology; Protozoa. Invertebrata; quantitative analysis; Rapid Communication; Sciences du vivant; Sesquiterpenes - metabolism; Sesquiterpenes - pharmacology; volatile compounds; Volatiles; Volatilization; (E)-β-farnesene; Headspace collection system; Aphid alarm pheromone production; Acyrthosiphon pisum; Chemical communication; Aphidoidea; Insecta; Emission; Pest; Homoptera; Arthropoda; Aphididae; Alarm pheromone; Invertebrata; Semiochemicals
• ISSN: 0098-0331; 1573-1561; 1573-1561
• DOI: 10.1007/s10886-008-9528-x

In response to attack by natural enemies, most aphid species release an alarm pheromone that causes nearby conspecifics to cease feeding and disperse. The primary component of the alarm pheromone of most species studied is (E)-β-farnesene. We recently demonstrated that the production and accumulation of (E)-β-farnesene during development by juvenile aphids is stimulated by exposure to odor cues, most likely by (E)-β-farnesene emitted by other colony members. Here, we tested whether the release of (E)-β-farnesene can be triggered by exposure to the alarm pheromone of other individuals, thereby amplifying the signal. Such contagious emission might be adaptive under some conditions because the amount of (E)-β-farnesene released by a single aphid may not be sufficient to alert an appropriate number of individuals of the colony to the presence of a potential threat. By using a push-pull headspace collection system, we quantified (E)-β-farnesene released from Acyrthosiphon pisum aphids exposed to conspecific alarm signals. Typical avoidance behavior was observed following exposure to (E)-β-farnesene (i.e., aphids ceased feeding and dropped from host-plant); however, no increase in alarm pheromone amount was detected, suggesting that contagious release of (E)-β-farnesene does not occur.