Chemical compounds used by animals for communication signals are called pheromones. Much of the early work on pheromones was done using the extremely sensitive antennae of moths, and their role in mate attraction. Females of many insect species produce blends of chemicals that are released into the air, and males that are downwind perceive these pheromones and fly upwind along the odor plume to the female. An important area of research includes the parameters that control response specificity in the males. Receptor cells in the antennae are specific for particular compounds, and the antennal nerve carries this information to the brain. It remains unclear how information is processed from the periphery to the central nervous system, leading to recognition of the mixture of compounds. This project uses an agriculturally important insect, the European corn borer moth, that has hybrid races which exhibit different levels of specificity for ratios of components that comprise their pheromones. A novel technique of transplanting the embryonic cells that form antennae will be used to grow the antennae of one hybrid on the body of another hybrid form. The behavioral sensitivity will demonstrate whether the specificity to a particular blend depends more on the antennal receptors or on the brain processing of the integrated inputs. Results from this work will provide important insight on the relative role of central and peripheral processing of pheromones, and will lead to advances in understanding other chemosensory systems as well as pheromone-mediated behavior. The impact also will extend beyond neuroscience to agriculture, in the strategies for control of pest and beneficial insect species.
