Action of Pheromone Biosynthesis Activating Neuropeptide on Pheromone Glands of Bombyx mori and Spodoptera litura

Abstract

The effect of synthetic Bom-PBAN was studied in vivo and in vitro. In B. mori, injection of 0.01 ng/female induced bombykol production and maximal production was attained at 1 ng/female in vivo. Time-dependence studies revealed an optimum response after incubation for 90–120 min at a dose of 0.5 ng/female. In vitro, sex pheromone production was induced in B. mori at 0.5 ng PBAN/150 pi Grace's medium and in S. litura at 2 ng/50 pi concentrations. Pheromone production reached maximum at 10 ng/150 pi in B. mori and 15 ng/ 50 pi in S. litura, respectively. In both species, optimal incubation time was 90–120 min in vitro. Induction of sex pheromone production in vitro clearly indicates that the target organ of PBAN action is the pheromone gland in B. mori and S. litura. Since sex pheromone production was also induced by calcium ionophore in vitro, Ca2+ is likely to mediate the action of PBAN. © 1992, Pesticide Science Society of Japan. All rights reserved.