International Research Fellowship Program: Investigations of the Semiochemicals in the Mating Sequence of the U.S.Invasive species Anoplophora Glabripennis and related Sub-Families

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。国际研究奖学金项目使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行9至24个月的研究。该计划的奖励为联合研究提供了机会，并利用独特或互补的设施、专业知识和国外的实验条件。该奖项将支持Jacob D. Wickham博士和Yi Chen博士在中国北京的中国科学院开展为期24个月的研究。本项目包括对亚洲长角甲虫（ALB）、光棘天牛（鞘翅目，天牛科，牛蛉科）的交配序列所涉及的符号化学物质进行调查。光棘天牛是美国的一种入侵物种，原产于中国，杀死了几种被子植物树木。具体的重点是识别远距离雌性信息素，以及研究以扩大对宿主挥发物，雄性产生的信息素和接触线索（编码性别识别和跟踪信息素的信息）的作用的理解。为了更好地了解天牛科信息素使用的进化模式，PI建议研究ALB的交配序列，并调查另一种氨基物种，一种天牛素和一种来自更古老的天牛科的物种。提案中的所有物种在中国都具有生态和经济问题，ALB对美国的森林构成严重威胁，在伊利诺伊州的芝加哥，纽约市，新泽西州和马萨诸塞州的伍彻斯特都有感染。在四个属的天牛科（雄性产生）中记录了远距离交配吸引，而在更古老的Prioninae的一个物种和Vesperidae（天牛科）的另外两个属中记录了雌性远距离信息素。对于大多数使用信息素的昆虫来说，雌性会吸引雄性。与这种进化模式和我迄今为止的研究结果相一致，PI预计ALB雌性也使用远距离性信息素（尽管雄性信息素也起作用）。他进行了广泛的实验室调查，以检测和鉴定远距离，雌性信息素和白斑病的寄主树引诱剂。这包括使用气相色谱法和触角电图检测器（GC-EAD）记录雄性的触角信号，然后进行GC-MS鉴定、实验室生物测定和现场生物测定。他的研究将包括未知不饱和碳氢化合物的鉴定，活性女性提取物的GC-EAD记录，使用活性和粗提取物的实验室生物分析，以及合成信息素成分的现场捕获。预期的结果是，这些新化合物作为挥发性远距离雌性信息素的前体具有双重作用，并且这些化合物本身为雄性ALB编码更多关于交配状态的信息（而不是性别识别）。其他相关物种的化学生态学研究的预期结果将显示出类似的配偶吸引和识别模式。对ALB和其他亚科代表物种的信号传导机制和交配序列的研究，可以拓宽我们对这一庞大而重要的昆虫群体的基本生物学认识。35000个物种？化学生态学是已知的。此外，ALB对北美森林的健康和可持续性构成严重威胁，远程引诱剂可能在成功根除这种入侵森林昆虫方面发挥关键作用。在纽约市，超过10万棵树已经用系统杀虫剂吡虫啉进行了处理，在长岛的地下水中发现了这种杀虫剂。使用引诱剂的IPM可以限制杀虫剂的使用。在马萨诸塞州伍彻斯特新发现的虫害（2008年8月）迫切需要化学引诱剂作为美国政府的监测工具。美国根除计划。在中国，白杨白柳是杨树和柳树种植园的一种严重害虫，而杨树和柳树的种植是为了获得能源生物质（可能减少20-30%的煤炭消耗，并有助于对抗全球变暖），在中国，白杨白柳是防风林。美国大规模的防沙治沙计划。

0904100WickhamThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Jacob D. Wickham to work with Dr. Yi Chen at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China.This project involves an investigation of the semiochemicals involved in the mating sequence of the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB), Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae), an invasive species in the U.S. that is native to China and kills several species of angiospermous trees. The specific focus is the identification of the long-range female pheromones, as well as investigations to broaden understanding of the roles of host volatiles, male produced pheromones, and contact cues (which encode information for sex recognition and trail pheromones). To gain a better understanding of the evolutionary patterns of pheromone use in Cerambycidae, the PI proposes research into the mating sequence of ALB and investigations of another lamiine species, a cerambycine, and one species from the more ancestral Prioninae. All species in the proposal are of ecological and economic concern in China, and ALB is a serious threat to forests in the USA with infestations in Chicago, IL, NYC, NJ, and Worchester, MA. Long range mate attraction has been documented in four genera of Cerambycinae (male produced), while female long range pheromones have been documented for one species of the more ancestral Prioninae, and two other genera in the Vesperidae (Cerambycoidea). For most insects that use pheromones, females attract the males. Consistent with this evolutionary pattern and my results to date, the PI expects that ALB females also use a long-range sex pheromone (although male pheromones also play a role). He conducted extensive laboratory investigations into the detection and identification of long-range, female pheromones and host tree attractants for ALB. This involves recording antennal signals of males using gas chromatography coupled with an electroantennographic detector (GC-EAD), followed by GC-MS identification, lab bioassay and field bioassay. His research will involve identification of the unknown unsaturated hydrocarbons, GC-EAD recordings of activated female extracts, laboratory bioassays using both activated and crude extracts, and field trapping with synthetic pheromone components. The expected results are that these new compounds have dual roles as precursors to volatile long-range female pheromone, and the compounds themselves encode more information regarding mating status (rather than sex recognition) for male ALB. The expected results from investigations of chemical ecology of other related species will show similar patterns of mate attraction and recognition.The study of the signaling mechanisms and mating sequence of ALB and a representative species from other subfamilies can broaden our knowledge of the basic biology of this large and important group of insects, of which only fragments of 0.2% of the world?s 35,000 species? chemical ecology is known. Furthermore, ALB poses a serious threat to the health and sustainability of North American forests, and long-range attractants would likely play a pivotal role in the successful eradication of this invasive forest insect. In New York City, over 100,000 trees have been treated with the systemic insecticide imidacloprid, which has been detected in groundwater on Long Island. IPM using attractants could limit insecticide use. The newly discovered infestation in Worchester, MA (August 2008) direly needs chemical attractants as a monitoring tool in the US government?s eradication program. In China, ALB is a serious pest of poplar and willow plantations, which are grown for energy biomass (potentially reducing coal consumption by 20-30%, and help combat global warming), and as windbreaks in China?s massive anti-desertification program.