Volatile Organic Compounds Mediate Host Selection of Wheat Midge, Sitodiplosis Mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) between Preanthesis and Postanthesis Stages of Wheat

• Published in: Journal of chemical ecology Vol. 50; no. 5-6; pp. 237 - 249
• Main Authors: Weeraddana, Chaminda De Silva, Wijesundara, Ramya, Hillier, Wendy, Swanburg, Taylor, Hillier, N. Kirk, Wang, Haozhe V., Faraone, Nicoletta, Wolfe, Sheila, McCartney, Curt, Wist, Tyler, Costamagna, Alejandro C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acetates - pharmacology; Acetic acid; Agriculture; Animals; Arthropod Antennae - drug effects; Arthropod Antennae - physiology; Biochemistry; Biological Microscopy; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cecidomyiidae; Cultivars; Diptera; Diptera - drug effects; Diptera - physiology; Ecology; Eggs; Electroantennograms; Entomology; Female; Gas chromatography; Host selection; Ketones; Life Sciences; Organic compounds; Oviposition; Oviposition - drug effects; Sitodiplosis mosellana; Spring wheat; Triticum - chemistry; Triticum - metabolism; Triticum - parasitology; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Volatile Organic Compounds - analysis; Volatile Organic Compounds - chemistry; Volatile Organic Compounds - metabolism; Volatile Organic Compounds - pharmacology; Wheat; Host selection; Oviposition deterrence; Plant–insect interactions; Insect chemical ecology; Wheat; Plant phenology
• ISSN: 0098-0331; 1573-1561; 1573-1561
• DOI: 10.1007/s10886-024-01492-z

The orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a significant wheat pest in the Prairie Provinces of Canada and northern regions of the USA. Wheat phenology plays a critical role in wheat midge oviposition. We hypothesized that S. mosellana oviposition behaviour is influenced by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by wheat at two adjacent wheat growth stages: preanthesis and postanthesis. A higher number of S. mosellana eggs laid on preanthesis than postanthesis spikes in an oviposition choice experiment using the susceptible spring wheat cultivar ‘Roblin’. In preanthesis, wheat emitted higher amounts of Z-3-hexenyl acetate (Z3-06:OAc) than at the postanthesis stage. Higher amounts of methyl ketones such as 2-tridecanone, 2-pentadecanone, and 2-undecanone were emitted by wheat in the postanthesis stage and these VOCs were sensitive to S. mosellana antennae used in the Gas Chromatography-Electroantennographic Detection. Females were attracted to synthetic Z3-06:OAc but were deterred by 2-tridecanone relative to the solvent control in the vertical Y-tube olfactometer. 2-Undecanone and 2-pentadecanone did not show any attractiveness or deterrence. In a no-choice oviposition experiment, fewer eggs were laid in preanthesis wheat exposed to a synthetic VOC blend of Z3-06:OAc, 2-undecanone, 2-tridecanone, and 2-pentadecanone at the concentrations released by postanthesis spikes. This study shows that the reduction of Z3-06:OAc, in the VOC mix, and possibly the increase in 2-tridecanone, are likely responsible for the reduction in oviposition on postanthesis wheat. These results elucidate for the first time the role of specific VOCs mediating S. mosellana oviposition in preanthesis and postanthesis wheat.