Functional characteristics of a tiny but specialized olfactory system: Olfactory receptor neurons of carrot psyllids (Homoptera: Triozidae)
Författare
Summary, in English
With only approximately 50 olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), the carrot psyllid Trioza apicalis (Homoptera: Psylloidea) may have the smallest olfactory system described in adult Neopteran insects. Using single sensillum recordings (SSR) and gas chromatograph-linked SSR, we characterized 4 olfactory sensilla forming a distinct morphological type, which together house approximately 25% of all ORNs. We recorded responses to extracts and single constituents from Daucus carota ssp. sativus, from the conifers Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris, and Juniperus communis, as well as from male and female T. apicalis. Receptor neurons were highly selective; only 9 compounds in total elicited repeatable responses, and each neuron responded to at most 3 individual compounds. Chemical profiles of carrot and conifers showed significant overlap, with 4 out of 9 electrophysiologically active compounds occurring in more than one type of extract, but a carrot-specific compound elicited the most repeated responses. We identified 4 tentative neuron classes and found a rather high degree of neuronal redundancy, with 1 neuron class present in 3 and another present in all 4 of the sensilla, respectively.
Publiceringsår
2008
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
759-769
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Chemical Senses
Volym
33
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Oxford University Press
Ämne
- Biological Sciences
- Zoology
Nyckelord
- sensillum
- single sensillum recording
- olfaction
- host plant
- GC-SSR
- Trioza apicalis
Status
Published
Projekt
- Chemical ecology of psyllids
Forskningsgrupp
- Pheromone Group
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1464-3553