RETRACTION: Pre-exposures to taro (Colocasia esculenta) leaf volatiles enhance the reproductive behaviors in Spodoptera litura
2017
Wan, Xinlong | Bai, Jiaxiu | Lu, Rui | Zhang, Daogen | Lin, Huiyue
Plant volatiles serve as sensory cues for insects to find food and habitats. They are also reported to affect many insect behaviors. In the current study, we determined how exposures to taro (Colocasia esculenta) for 24h affect reproductive behaviors in Spodoptera litura. Further, we investigated the mechanisms that regulate taro volatiles-induced reproductive behavior in S. litura by recording peripheral, behavioral, and neuronal responses of male moths to sex pheromone components (Z9,E11-14:OAc and Z9,E12-14:OAc) and their mixtures in different ratios, as well as gene expression levels of sex pheromone receptors. The results showed that the exposure to taro volatiles significantly enhanced male mating rate, mating duration, and egg hatching rates, but not mating times and the number of oviposition per female. Consistently, the peripheral and behavioral responses of pre-exposed males to sex pheromone components and their mixtures wherein Z9,E11-14:OAc owned higher proportions, as well as neuronal responses to those at low dosages were significantly increased compared to non-exposed males. The expression levels of sex pheromone receptor genes were also significantly increased in pre-exposed males compared to non-exposed ones. These results suggest that taro volatile pre-exposures could promote the reproductive performance of S. litura by enhancing the competitiveness of male mating and communications between male and females. These findings provide new insights for the management of this insect pest as well as other moths.
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