Verification of essential fatty acids effect on the sex pheromonogenesis of moth

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K06070
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 39050:Insect science-related
• Research Institution: Setsunan University
• Principal Investigator: Fujii Takeshi 摂南大学, 農学部, 講師 (30730626)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 性フェロモン生合成 / 脂質代謝 / ガ類性フェロモン交信系 / 油滴 / フェロモン生産量 / 必須脂肪酸

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The following three points have been demonstrated by comparing sex pheromone amounts between moths fed on mulberry and artificial diet. The artificial diet contains ca.10-fold higher fatty acids level than mulberry. Silk moths and fall webworms were used in this study.
(1)Nevertheless a difference in fatty acid between mulberry and artificial diet, increment of the sex pheromone fed on artificial diet confined to a couple of fold the amount as an upper limit in both species; (2)Lipid droplet in pheromone gland of silk moth can regulate the amount of long-chain fatty acid to the pheromonogenesis; (3)Amount of sex pheromone component originated in linoleic acid of fall webworm fed on mulberry significantly decreased by compare fed on artificial diet.

Free Research Field

昆虫生理・生化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の結果、カイコガではフェロモン腺の油滴が性フェロモンの前駆体となる脂肪酸量を制御している可能性を見出した。また、顕微鏡観察の結果より、この油滴は小胞体から出芽していることが分かった。もしそうだとすると、フェロモン腺内の油滴の形成過程は菌類や植物類や哺乳類と共通性が高いこととなる。また、哺乳類と同様に、特定の必須脂肪酸のみを過剰に摂取した幼虫は致死となることが実験の過程で分かった。本成果より、ガの性フェロモン生合成系で得た油滴とその周辺の生化学的な知見は、生物分類群を超えて広く共有できることが期待できる。