Collaborative Research: Chemical and Sensory Basis of Hostplant Specificity

本项目将研究草食性昆虫宿主特异性的化学和感官基础。密切相关的昆虫物种利用植物寄主的能力的差异，以及同一物种的成虫和幼虫的反应之间的差异将被检查。两种菜花蝶，菜花蝶和菜花蝶（鳞翅目）和五种不同利用的十字花科植物将作为模型系统。主要目标是：(1)确定不同生命阶段和不同物种之间的行为和感觉反应的差异；(2)确定植物之间的化学差异在多大程度上解释了它们对花粉食草的易感性。不同的生物测定方法将指导分离影响昆虫产卵、取食和生长的植物化合物。电生理记录将用于比较对化合物的感觉和行为反应。这些结果将提供一个综合的观点，在不同的生命阶段，植物化学和昆虫反应之间的相互作用导致昆虫-寄主植物特异性。

This project will investigate the chemical and sensory foundations of host specificity in herbivorous insects. Differences in the ability of closely related insect species to use a plant host, and discrepancies between responses of adults and larvae of the same species will be examined. Two cabbage butterflies, Pieris rapae and P.napi oleracea (Lepidoptera) and five differentially utilized crucifers will serve as a model system. The major objectives are (1) to determine how behavioral and sensory responses differ between life stages and between species, and (2) to determine the extent to which chemical differences between plants account for their susceptibility to pierid herbivory. Different bioassays will guide the isolation of plant compounds affecting oviposition, feeding and growth of the insects. Electrophysiological recordings will be used to compare sensory and behavioral responses to the compounds. The results will provide an integrated view of the way that interactions between plant chemistry and insect responses at different life stages lead to insect-hostplant specificity.