Modifying oviposition behaviour in phytophagous insects and physiological bases thereof

对于许多植食性昆虫来说，未成熟阶段的成功发育部分取决于成年雌性对产卵的寄主植物的适当选择。有些昆虫似乎更喜欢它们赖以生长的寄主植物；这被正式称为霍普金斯宿主选择原则。先前旨在支持这一理论的调查经常提供模棱两可、模棱两可或相互矛盾的结果。我实验室最近的调查提供了有趣的证据，表明幼虫接触特定植物化学物质的经历会影响随后的成虫行为。在我们的模型系统中，我们的数据表明，幼虫通过变形保留的学习和记忆是这种现象的机制。本研究的目的是：(1)确定幼虫-蛹-成虫记忆的神经基础，以及成虫味觉化学感受器（味觉器官）在寄主选择中的作用；(2)试图证明昆虫的行为可以被操纵，使成虫在边缘或不合适的植物上产卵；(3)探讨产卵偏好与幼虫表现的关系。该研究将扩展我们对昆虫与植物相互作用的神经生理学的认识，并强调植物食性昆虫学习和记忆的重要性。了解昆虫寄主的选择可以为未来的策略提供基础，以操纵行为作为无害环境的有害生物管理手段。

For many plant-feeding insects, successful development of the immature stages depends in part on the adult female making an appropriate choice of host plant on which to lay her eggs. Some insects appear to prefer hostplant species on which they themselves developed;  this is formally known as the Hopkins' host selection principle.  Previous investigations aimed at supporting this theory have often provided ambiguous, equivocal or conflicting results.  Recent investigations in my laboratory provide intriguing evidence that larval experience with specific plant chemicals can influence subsequent adult behaviour.  In our model system using the cabbage looper moth (Trichoplusia ni, Noctuidae), our data point to larval learning and memory retained through metamorphosis as a mechanism for this phenomenon. The objectives of the proposed research are:  (1) to determine the neural basis of this memory retained from larva to pupa to adult moth and the contribution of adult gustatory chemosensilla (taste organs) to hostplant choice;  (2) to attempt to demonstrate that insect behaviour can be manipulated such that adult insects lay eggs on marginal or unsuitable plants;  and (3) to explore the relationship between oviposition preference and larval performance.  The proposed research will expand our knowledge of neurophysiology as a mediator of insect-plant interactions and underscore the importance of learning and memory in plant-feeding insects.  Understanding insect host choice can provide a foundation for future strategies aimed at manipulating behaviour as a means of environmentally sound pest management.