DOES PBAN PLAY AN ALTERNATIVE ROLE OF CONTROLLING PHEROMONE EMISSION IN THE CABBAGE-LOOPER MOTH, TRICHOPLUSIA NI (HUBNER) (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE)

There is an active process by which sex pheromone reserves of female c abbage looper moths, Trichoplusia ni, are transported to the gland's s urface during the nocturnal period of calling, We hypothesized that th is mobilization was controlled by a head factor, possibly related to t he pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptides (PBAN) that ire oth er species stimulate pheromone synthesis, We evaluated the impact of h ead extracts of T. ni on pheromone emission and glandular content of p heromone, During the photophase injected head extracts stimulated an i ncreased pheromone emission rate in females, but glandular content of pheromone was not affected, Head extracts of H. virescens, a species w ith known PBAN activity, and synthetic PBAN stimulated an increased ph eromone emission rate in T. ni, There was some specificity of the resp onse of female T. ni to PBAN, in that several other unrelated polypept ides did not stimulate this type of response, Previously it had been d etermined that brain factors do not play a role in stimulating pheromo ne biosynthesis in T. ni, Our results indicate that there may be addit ional avenues by which PBAN or related neuropeptides control pheromone emission, including transport of pheromone reserves to the surface of the sex pheromone gland. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.