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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #387577
Research Project: Integrated Approach to Manage the Pest Complex on Temperate Tree Fruits

Location: Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research

Title: Chemical Ecology of Host and Mate Selection

Author
item LEBRETON, SEBASTIEN - Institute For Research In Semiochemistry And Applied Ethology
item SAVEER, AHMED - North Carolina State University
item FANDINO, RICHARD - Cornell University
item Walker, William

Submitted to: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Publication Type: Literature Review
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/15/2021
Publication Date: 11/4/2021
Citation: Lebreton, S., Saveer, A.M., Fandino, R.A., Walker Iii, W.B. 2021. Chemical Ecology of Host and Mate Selection. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.780540.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.780540

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Finding suitable mating partners and sufficient resources for individual and offspring is crucial for all animals. To achieve these goals, animals need to navigate through their environment to find the desired item. For this purpose, they use different cues (visual, olfactory, auditory, mechanical, gustatory...) that they detect through different sensory channels. Among the different sensory modalities, chemosensation (olfaction and gustation) is one of the most widespread and commonly used, especially in insects. Semiochemicals (chemical compounds conveying a message) are detected via receptors expressed in sensory neurons. Once sensory neurons are activated, the message is transferred to the brain, where the information is processed. This enables the animal to behave accordingly. There are different types of semiochemicals. Those involved in interspecific interactions such as host selection are called allelochemicals while those involved in intraspecific communication (mate selection for example) are called pheromones. Both can be either volatile and perceived at a distance via the olfactory system, or non-volatile and detected by contact through the gustatory system. Chemical ecology, the science of chemically mediated interactions among living organisms, is therefore a multidisciplinary field, which combines ecology, behavioral sciences, neuroscience, chemistry, evolution, genetics and genomics. When we launched this Research Topic “The Chemical Ecology of Host and Mate Selection”, we wanted to highlight this interdisciplinarity and the different methods used in this field. In a series of eight articles, the contributors to this Research Topic show, using a wide range of techniques in several insect species, how volatile and non-volatile semiochemicals mediate host and mate selection and how these two are interconnected. Here, we review the collective articles of the special issue Research Topic within the broader context of the scientific endeavors of the field of chemical ecology