Biochemistry and Endocrine Regulation of Aggregation Pheromone Production in Dendroctonus spp. Pine Bark Beetles

9728555 Seybold树皮甲虫是北美西部针叶树的主要害虫，它大量聚集并以我们最有价值的树种的活的、糖运输组织为食。 这些昆虫利用气味引诱剂（信息素）聚集在树上并大量繁殖。 在这个项目中，PI建议研究两种经济上重要的树皮甲虫，山地松甲虫，Dendroctonus ponderosae和Jeffrey松甲虫，Dendroctonus jeffreyi，如何合成相对较小的脂质分子的混合物，它们用作信息素。 该研究将利用各种标准的生物化学和生理学技术来揭示这些昆虫使用的途径以及这些途径是如何被神经调节的。 这项研究的主要目标是确定在生命周期中，化学品何时进行生物合成，以及合成发生在身体的哪个部位。 此外，信息素的合成的关系，以olcorcsin化学的主机松树将被检查。 最终，这一基础性研究的起源树皮甲虫信息素可能会确定独特的易感目标点的投影或调节，可用于昆虫控制技术。 虽然不可能准确预测这项研究的实际结果，但应该强调的是，甲虫离开树皮下画廊的唯一时间是短暂的，信息素介导的飞行到新的宿主。

9728555 Seybold Bark beetles, which aggregate in large numbers and feed in the living, sugar-transporting tissue of many of our most valued tree species, are the predominant insect pests of conifers in western North America. These insects use odor attractants (pheromones) to gather on and infest the trees. In this project the PIs propose to study how two economically important species of bark beetles, the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, and the Jeffrey pine beetle, Dendroctonus jeffreyi, synthesize the mixtures of relatively small lipid molecules that they use as pheromones. The research will utilize a variety of standard biochemical and physiological techniques to reveal the pathways that these insects use as well as how these pathways are hormonally regulated. Key objectives of the study are to determine when in the life cycle the chemicals are biosynthesized and in what region of the body the synthesis occurs. Furthermore, the relationship of pheromone synthesis to the olcorcsin chemistry of the host pines will be examined. Ultimately, this fundamental research on the origin of bark beetle pheromones may identify unique susceptible target points in projection or regulation that could be used for insect control techniques. While it is impossible to predict with any accuracy practical outcomes of this research, it should be emphasized that the only time that the beetles leave their galleries beneath the bark is for the short-duration, pheromone-mediated flight to new hosts.