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

9728555塞博尔德树皮甲虫大量聚集，以我们许多最有价值的树种的活的、运输糖的组织为食，是北美西部针叶树的主要害虫。这些昆虫使用气味引诱剂(信息素)聚集在树上并侵扰树木。在这个项目中，PI建议研究两种经济上重要的树皮甲虫，山松甲虫和杰弗瑞松甲是如何合成它们用作信息素的相对较小的脂分子的混合物的。这项研究将利用各种标准的生化和生理技术来揭示这些昆虫使用的途径，以及这些途径是如何受到荷尔蒙调节的。这项研究的主要目标是确定在生命周期中何时生物合成化学品，以及在身体的哪个部位进行合成。此外，还将研究信息素合成与寄主松树脂素化学之间的关系。最终，这项关于树皮甲虫信息素来源的基础研究可能会在投射或调节中识别出独特的敏感靶点，可用于害虫控制技术。虽然不可能准确地预测这项研究的实际结果，但应该强调的是，甲虫离开树皮下的画廊的唯一时间是在信息素介导的短期飞行到新宿主的过程中。

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.