Neurons discovered in male Helicoverpa zea antennae that correlate with pheromone-mediated attraction and interspecific antagonism

A. A. Cossé, J. L. Todd, T. C. Baker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Scopus citations

Abstract

Responses of single receptor neurons in the antennae of male Helicoverpa zea to sex pheromone components and to behavioral antagonists were recorded using a cut-sensillum extracellular recording technique. Three types of sensilla were identified from sampling 325 male-specific sensilla trichodea located at the lateral edge of antennomeres. The majority of these sensilla (71%) contained a receptor neuron tuned to the principal sex pheromone component (Z)-11-hexadecenal. A second sensillar type (10%) contained a receptor neuron that responded only to (Z)-9-tetra-decenal. A third sensillar type (19%) contained a large-spiking neuron tuned to the secondary pheromone component (Z)-9-hexadecenal, but this neuron also could be stimulated to equivalent spike frequencies by the same emitted amounts of (Z)-9-tetradecenal. A smaller-spiking neuron in this sensillar type responded to two compounds known to act only as behavioral antagonists, (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol and (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate, and to (Z)-9-tetradecenal. Cross-adaptation studies confirmed the presence of one large-and one small-spiking neuron in the third sensillar type. Dose-response studies correlated to collected stimuli amounts showed that the large-spiking neuron in the third sensillar type was equally tuned to (Z)-9-hexadecenal and (Z)-9-tetradecenal, whereas the smaller-spiking neuron was far more sensitive to (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol and to (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate than to (Z)-9-tetradecenal.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)585-594
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Comparative Physiology - A Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
Volume182
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1998

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Physiology
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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