The leaf skeletonizer, Pyrausta machaeralis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a serious insect pest of teak (Tectona grandis) in China. The application of insect pheromones is widely applied as an environmentally friendly technology for integrated pest management (IPM). In the present study, crude extracts of sex pheromone glands of calling P. machaeralis females were collected and then analyzed using gas chromatography/electroantennographic detection (GC/EAD) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The combination of infrared spectroscopy (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry was used for structure identification. Afterward, their electrophysiological and behavioral activity was evaluated in the laboratory and field. Herein, we eventually determined two active components, E-11-tetradecenyl acetate (E11-14:Ac) and Z-11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-14:Ac), at a ratio of 96:4, as the sex pheromone of P. machaeralis. The identification of sex pheromones would facilitate the development of efficient strategies for monitoring and controlling the field populations of P. machaeralis.

The gregarious lifestyle of lepidopteran larvae is diverse and shaped by a complex interplay of ecological and evolutionary factors. Our review showed that the larval-aggregation behavior has been reported in 23 lepidopteran families, indicating multiple evolution of this behavior. Some larvae live in sibling groups throughout all larval instars and even pupation stages, which may result from the kin-selection. In contrast, group fusion may occur among different sibling or foraging groups of larvae and form larger aggregates, and the gregariousness of these species might be driven by the group-selection. While group size and foraging patterns vary greatly across species, it is generally associated with improved larval survivorship and accelerated development. However, the advantages of group living, such as facilitating feeding activities, adjusting the temperature, and defending natural enemies, may diminish along with development, with strong intraspecific competition occurring at later instars, even when food is abundant. Therefore, the group sizes and fission-fusion dynamics of certain gregarious lepidopteran larvae may be a consequence of their cost-benefit balance depending on various biotic and abiotic factors. Trail and aggregation pheromones, silk trails, or body contact contribute to collective movement and group cohesion of gregarious lepidopteran larvae. However, frequent contact among group members may cause the horizontal transmission of pathogens and pesticides, which may bring an integrated pest management strategy controlling gregarious lepidopteran pests. This review focuses on physiological, ecological, and behavioral characteristics of aggregation behaviors of lepidopteran larvae, which have been reported in 23 Lepidoptera families. This figure provides examples of gregarious lepidopteran larvae, including Heortia vitessoides (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), Cricula variabilis (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), and Hyphantria cunea (Lepidoptera: Erebidae).image

This study explores the role of floral volatile organic compounds (FVOCs) in insect behavior, focusing on Aquilaria sinensis (AS), a valuable tropical plant threatened by Heortia vitessoides Moore. Despite H. vitessoides’ attraction to AS and non-host plants like Elaeocarpus decipiens (ED) and Dalbergia odorifera (DO), little is known about their chemical interactions. FVOCs from these plants were analyzed at 9:00 and 18:00 using GC×GC-QTOF-MS and HS-SPME. The results showed that ED exhibiting the highest concentration (92.340 ng/mg), followed by DO (75.167 ng/mg) and AS (64.450 ng/mg). Through GC-EAD and EAG, a total of 11 FVOC compounds with electrophysiological activates were identified. These compounds, except linalool, showed dose-dependent responses. Y-Tube bioassays confirmed phenylethyl alcohol or the mixture of EAD-active compounds produced positive chemotactic responses in both males and females. FVOCs have the potential to be used as a natural and sustainable alternative to chemical insecticides in pest control.

BACKGROUNDHeortia vitessoides Moore is a severe pest of Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg, an important source of agarwood. In recent years, large amounts of chemical insecticides have been applied in A. sinensis plantations to deal with the outbreak of H. vitessoides, causing residue problems that reduce the quality and price of agarwood. Herein, we hypothesize that the widely applied biocontrol agent, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorokin, can effectively kill the gregarious larvae of H. vitessoides through direct contact and horizontal transmission. RESULTSAt the concentration of 1 x 10(9) conidia/mL, the three M. anisopliae strains caused 100% mortality of H. vitessoides larvae. In addition, mixing donor larvae (previously treated with M. anisopliae conidia) with receptor larvae (which did not directly contact M. anisopliae conidia) caused significantly higher mortality of receptor larvae than the control receptors. This is due to the horizontal transmission of M. anisopliae conidia among live larvae, which was proven by pictures taken by scanning electron microscopy and induced activities of immunity-related enzymes of donor and receptor larvae. Behavioral bioassays showed that M. anisopliae conidia had little effect on the aggregation tendency of H. vitessoides larvae but may trigger feeding-avoidance behavior depending on M. anisopliae strains and concentrations. Interestingly, joint use of sublethal concentrations of M. anisopliae and chemical insecticides significantly increased larval mortality than each agent alone, indicating synergistic effects between M. anisopliae and insecticide against H. vitessoides. CONCLUSIONThis study may provide a new strategy to suppress H. vitessoides population and reduce the use of chemical insecticides. (c) 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Rosa chinensis cultivars with volatile aromas are important resources in the perfume industry. The four rose cultivars introduced to Guizhou province are rich in volatile substances. In this study, volatiles from four Rosa chinensis cultivars were extracted using headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME), and analyzed with two-dimensional gas chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-QTOFMS). A total of 122 volatiles were identified; the main compounds in these samples were benzyl alcohol, phenylethyl alcohol, citronellol, beta-myrcene and limonene. A total of 68, 78, 71, and 56 volatile compounds were identified in Rosa 'Blue River' (RBR), Rosa 'Crimson Glory' (RCG), Rosa 'Pink Panther' (RPP), and Rosa 'Funkuhr' (RF) samples, respectively. The total volatile contents were in the following order: RBR > RCG > RPP > RF. Four cultivars exhibited similar volatility profiles, with alcohols, alkanes, and esters as the major chemical groups, followed by aldehydes, aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, benzene, and other compounds. Alcohols and aldehydes were quantitatively the two most abundant chemical groups that included the highest number and highest content of compounds. Different cultivars have different aromas, and RCG had high contents of phenyl acetate, rose oxide, trans-rose oxide, phenylethyl alcohol and 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene, characterized by floral and rose descriptors. RBR contained a high content of phenylethyl alcohol, and RF contained a high content of 3,5-dimethoxytoluene. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) of all volatiles showed that the three cultivars (RCG, RPP, and RF) had similar volatile characteristics and were significantly different from RBR. Differential metabolites among cultivars were screened based on the OPLS-DA model, and there were six main enriched pathways of differential metabolites: biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, monoterpenoid biosynthesis, metabolic pathways, limonene and pinene degradation, sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis, and alpha-linolenic acid metabolism. The biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is the most differential metabolic pathway.

[目的]柚木野螟Eutectona machaeralis主要取食危害珍贵树种柚木.本研究旨在观察研究柚木野螟成虫复眼的形态、组织结构和超微结构,分析其复眼结构特征,为更好了解该物种复杂的视觉行为与感光、趋光机制的关系奠定基础.[方法]运用光学显微镜以及扫描和透射电子显微镜技术观察了柚木野螟成虫复眼的形态、组织结构和超微结构.[结果]柚木野螟成虫复眼着生于头部触角基部,呈椭球形,属对称性复眼.雌、雄成虫复眼分别有2 300～2 755和1 950～2 316个小眼.小眼呈正六边形,表面密被角膜乳突,间隙偶有感觉毛.每个小眼由1个角膜、4个晶锥细胞、1对初级色素细胞,6个次级色素细胞、不同水平面分布的12个视网膜细胞和基膜等组成.沿小眼纵轴11个视网膜细胞的向心侧细胞膜特化成细丝状微绒毛,形成放射状排列的视小杆,组合呈融合型视杆;第12个视网膜细胞位于小眼基部.基膜上方,视网膜细胞和次级色素细胞末端膨大,以轴突形式穿过基底膜.[结论]柚木野螟复眼为典型的重叠像眼,雌、雄成虫小眼排列方式及内部结构无明显差异,但雌、雄虫小眼数量和大小具有明显的性二型现象.

在化学生态学领域中,触角电位仪(EAG)、气相色谱-触角电位联用仪(GC-EAD)、气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)、单感器记录仪(SSR)和气相色谱-单感器记录联用仪(GC-SSR)是开展昆虫信息化合物的鉴定及活性组分筛选的重要技术手段,常用于昆虫对信息化合物感受机制、昆虫与植物的互作关系研究.本文详细分析了这几种技术的作用机理,综述了近些年昆虫电生理技术的应用和研究进展,可为昆虫信息化合物的研究提供技术参考.

Two-dimensional gas chromatography (2D GC)-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QTOFMS) combined with derivatization was applied to determine naphthenic acids (NAs) in oil sand processed water (OSPW). Using the excellent resolution of 2D GC and mass resolution of QTOFMS with derivatization, 8 cyclohexane carboxylic acid isomers, 18 methylcyclohexyl carboxylic acid isomers, and 18 methylcyclohexyl acetic acid isomers were identified. Linear relationships across wide concentration ranges were established with correlation coefficients (R (2)) of 0.9995, 0.9992, and 0.9990, for cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, 4-methylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid, and 4-methylcyclohexane acetic acid. The precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5), was from 7. 7-9.5% with recoveries between 72.0% and 84.9%. This method was applied to analyze sewage and showed high concentrations of naphthenic acids in untreated samples.

Repellants can be very useful in managing red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, particularly in some scenarios where application of synthetic insecticides is not appropriate. Our previous study showed that fire ants cannot transport food on surfaces treated with eugenol, and the repelling effect lasted for > 24 h, which motivated us to extend our research on eugenol derivatives. Herein, the electrophysiological effect, toxicity and repellency of five eugenol derivatives (methyl isoeugenol, eugenol acetate, isoeugenol, methyl eugenol, and isoeugenyl acetate) were evaluated against S. invicta workers. All eugenol derivatives triggered significantly higher EAG responses than the hexane blanks and had concentration-dependent toxicity against S. invicta workers. All tested eugenol derivatives except isoeugenyl acetate showed strong repellency by significantly decreasing the number of defending (aggression mode) and foraging (non-aggression mode) ants in the tested arenas . Unexpectedly, methyl isoeugenol almost repelled all defending fire ants from disturbed mounds. This compound also repelled foraging ants significantly longer than eugenol. At the concentration of 50 mg/kg in sand, methyl isoeugenol was the only tested compound that completely suppressed the digging behavior of S. invicta workers. In addition, fire ants exhibited low levels of nesting behaviors in flowerpots containing sand treated with each eugenol derivative (500 mg/kg). Surprisingly, the repellency of methyl isoeugenol in flowerpots containing treated sand could last for almost one month. Our study may bring an opportunity to develop strong and long-lasting fire ant repellant products against foraging, defending, and nesting fire ants.

利用全二维气相色谱-四极杆飞行时间质谱(GC×GC-QTOF MS)建立了一种适用于独活挥发油化学成分的高通量检测方法,样品经水蒸气蒸馏提取后,直接采用全二维气相色谱进行分离,并根据谱库匹配、保留指数及精确质量数进行定性确认.结果表明,共分离鉴定了独活挥发油中207种化学成分,其中正向、反向匹配因子大于800的化合物占90％以上,分子离子峰的精确质量偏差均小于3 ppm,且80％以上物质的保留指数偏差在20以内.同时,通过半定量分析发现酯类、醇类、酚类、碳氢化合物是独活挥发油中最丰富的化学成分.研究结果对于挖掘独活挥发油的物质基础和药用价值具有重要意义.

鞘翅目昆虫是我国最常见的农林业有害生物,给农林生产造成了巨大损失.基于昆虫趋光性、趋色性和趋化性所研发的昆虫诱捕器作为一种绿色防控手段,目前已广泛应用于农林虫害的监测、预防和控制中,成为了害虫综合防控体系的重要组成部分.明确害虫诱捕装置的设计原理及各因子对诱捕效率的影响是有效实施虫害绿色生物防控的前提,本文陈述了国内外害虫诱捕器的应用进展及设计原理,进而探讨不同因子(如形状、颜色、材质、引诱剂和高度等)对鞘翅目害虫野外诱捕装置诱捕效果的影响,旨在为提高装置诱捕效果提供借鉴和参考,加快新型诱捕技术的研究及应用进程.

基于全二维气相色谱-四级杆飞行时间质谱联用系统对同时蒸馏萃取砂仁挥发油成分进行高通量分离和精确质量检测.结果共鉴定到砂仁挥发油中83种化学成分,而常规一维只能检测到36种成分.通过对广东阳春、广西南宁和云南文山的砂仁挥发油成分进行分析和比较,发现α-檀香烯、β-檀香烯、β-杜松烯和β-石竹烯的含量差异较为明显,且广东阳春砂仁挥发油中的醇类和酚类物质较多,该方法为道地药材春砂仁的品质特征分析和产地鉴别提供了方法及数据参考.

TheRosa chinensiscultivarsRosa Lvye,Rosa Knock out,Rosa ParadeandSlater'scrimson Chinawere analyzed for the volatile chemical composition in their flower petals. Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was applied to extract volatile flavors, and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) and quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS) were used for chemical profiling, including quantitative and qualitative analysis of theRosacultivars. A total of 97 volatile compounds were identified and 38 to 67 compounds were identified in each cultivar. The total concentrations of the extracted volatile compounds in the four cultivars wereRosa Knock out(750.21 +/- 45.06 mu g/g) >Rosa Parade(714.02 +/- 6.94 mu g/g) >Rosa Lvye(558.11 +/- 9.08 mu g/g) >Slater's crimson China(436.86 +/- 3.21 mu g/g). This study provides a specific chromatographic fingerprint for theRosa chinensiscultivars, which can be applied in differentiation of the fragrance and aroma constituents.

The aroma fraction of fresh fruits is a key factor to evaluate quality and acceptance or resistance of customers. Due to the limited sensitivity of current analytical methods, many important aroma components are unidentified in most studies of fresh fruit. In this work, the aroma compounds in the fresh navel orange were studied by multidimensional gas chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry which can simultaneously achieve one-dimensional and comprehensive two-dimensional separation on only one instrument, with no need to change columns. As a result, a total of 97 volatile compounds were determined by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography while only 44 compounds were identified by one-dimensional gas chromatography. The identified compounds, which account for 98.30% of the volatile chemicals present in the orange, include 10 aldehydes, 8 ketones, 22 alcohols, 12 esters, 11 hydrocarbons and 34 terpenes. D-limonene was shown to be the predominant compound in fresh navel oranges. The results show that comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography provided reliable and comprehensive information on the aroma compounds in fresh navel oranges.

BACKGROUND An over-the-counter medicine product of China known as essential balm effectively repelled red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren. However, it was not clear which chemical component(s) accounted for the repellency, and whether they would effectively repel S. invicta in the field. RESULTS Five components, eucalyptol, camphor, menthol, methyl salicylate, and eugenol, were identified in essential balm using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Each component elicited concentration-dependent electroantennography (EAG) response. Under field conditions, all components showed repellency against foraging ants. Interestingly, foraging ants managed to access the food items placed on a surface smeared with eucalyptol, camphor, menthol, or methyl salicylate by depositing soil particles on the surface and then walking on soil particles. However, they failed to do so when the surface was smeared with eugenol. Repellency of eugenol lasted for > 24 h, which was much longer than that of the other four components of essential balm and is comparable to that of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), the standard for insect repellants. CONCLUSION Olfactory response of S. invicta to all five components of the essential balm was confirmed. Each component showed repellency against S. invicta workers in the field. However, only eugenol significantly suppressed both foraging and particle-covering behavior within 24 h. The repellent effect of eugenol lasted much longer than the other four components. Particle-covering behavior has been largely ignored in studying fire ant repellants. Our study demonstrated that it is necessary to consider such behaviors in ant repellent bioassays in the future.

At present, researches on various areas have been benefited from the advancement in solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique, which covers a wide scope of analytes with different properties, facilitates on-site sampling and sample preparation, allows automated operation with high sample throughput, and facilitates long-range monitoring. As the scope of SPME grows, further increases in the specificity, speed and efficiency of this technique are still urgently needed. Application of auxiliary energies is one of the efficient strategies to achieve the aforementioned purpose. This review offers a brief discussion concerning several physical assistive technologies of SPME (e.g. vacuum, ultrasound, microwave, electrical driving force, magnetism, etc.) with respect to targeted or untargeted analysis of different substances in environmental, biological and food samples. Achievements, limitations, and future trends of these applications are also discussed. This review article is believed to be conductive to future applications of auxiliary energy assisted SPME methods in various fields.

化感作用普遍存在于森林群落中,不同树种间的化感作用是决定营建混交林成败的关键因素.本研究从化感物质的来源、种类分离鉴定、释放途径、作用机制、影响因素等方面对近10 a来林木化感作用进行阐述,为林木群落的健康和生态功能评价提供理论基础和参考.建议今后加强和扩展对林木化感物质研究的深度和广度,对化感物质作用机制的研究层次可深入至分子和基因维度,将研究对象从单一植株化感潜力的测定拓展至探究特定植物种群化感物质对森林群落结构和物种多样性的影响上来.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin (ASA) and clopidogrel (CLP) has been consistently shown clinical effectiveness in patients with coronary artery disease. According to the literature, four traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs effective for prevention cardiovascular diseases, namely Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza (Red sage root, Danshen), Radix Pueraria Lobata (Kudzu root, Gegen), Radix Angelica Sinensis (Angelica root, Danggui), and Rhizoma Ligusticum chuanxiong (Szehuan lovage rhizome, Chuanxiong), are of high potential to be co-administered during DAPT. Since all these herbs are blood vitalizing medicines and can promote blood circulation and eliminate blood stasis, it was hypothesized that they may potentially alter the clinical outcomes of DAPT with clopidogrel and aspirin. AIM OF STUDY:The current study is proposed aiming to preliminarily evaluate the impact of these four commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the combination therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin and its relevant outcomes and mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS:In order to mimic the standard dosing regimen for DAPT in human, various Sprague-Dawley rats treatment groups were received a bolus oral dose of DAPT on day 1 followed by DAPT for consecutive 13 days in absence and presence of orally co-administered four TCM herbs (Danshen, Gegen, Danggui and Chuanxiong) at their low and high doses. On day 14, serial blood samples were collected after dosing to obtain the plasma concentrations of ASA, CLP and their corresponding metabolites by LC/MS/MS. At the end of last blood sampling point of each rat, about 4.5 ml of whole blood were collected to estimate the prothrombin time from each treatment groups. After all the blood sampling, the rats were sacrificed followed by collecting their livers for evaluations of enzyme activities and expressions in the related liver microsome preparations and stomach tissues for evaluations of their potential ulcer index. In addition, gene expression and protein levels of related biomarkers (COX-1, COX-2, P2Y12) in rat livers were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively, and compared among different treatment groups. RESULTS:Co-administration of Gegen and Danggui significantly altered the pharmacokinetics of ASA and CLP in DAPT with increased systemic exposure of ASA and CLP respectively. Although minimal impact on aspirin esterase activity for all co-administered herbs, significant inhibition on rCyp2c11 and carboxylesterase activities were observed for DAPT with Danshen, Gegen and Danggui co-treatment. In addition, significantly longer PT were found in all DAPT treatment groups. However, a trend of decrease in PT of DAPT in presence of Gegen, Danggui and Chuanxiong was noticed. Nevertheless, all the treatments did not cause detectable changes in COX and P2Y12 mRNA and protein expressions. CONCLUSION:Among the four studied TCMs, it was demonstrated that co-administration of Gegen and Danggui could lead to altered pharmacokinetics of DAPT with significant inhibition on rCyp2c11 and carboxylesterase activities. Although Gegen, Danggui and Chuanxiong might potentially offset the anticoagulant activity of DAPT, the overall pharmacodynamics outcome was not considered to be harmful due to lack of risk in bleeding, which warrant further verification for its clinical impact.

Background: The secondary forests have become the major forest type worldwide, and forest gap was also a common small disturbance in secondary forests. We aimed to analyze the effects of small gap disturbance on the plant species richness of subtropical secondary forest with natural regeneration barriers and examine the relationship between soil topography and plant species in a subtropical Rhododendron secondary forest of the Baili Rhododendron National Nature Reserve. Methods: The major plant species and soil topography gradient factors of the small gaps and closed canopy (control group) were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, multivariate permutational analysis of variance, nonmetric multi-dimensional scaling, random forest, canonical correspondence analysis, redundancy analysis, and a generalized linear model. Results: Small gaps had significant impact on the distribution of soil available potassium (AK), organic carbon to total phosphorus (C/P) ratio rather than slope position for soil pH and calcium (Ca) under closed canopy. Soil pH and AK followed by total phosphorus (TP) were the most important variables explaining the spatial distributions of soil properties in both habitats. Determining the spatial distribution of individual woody plant species were soil pH in small gaps, instead of lower altitude, TP, total potassium (TK) and sodium (Na) concentrations for both habitats. Moreover, Ericaceae and Fagaceae were strongly associated with pH in the small gaps. However, there was soil Na for the herbaceous plant in the closed canopy. The species richness of woody plant species in small gaps was affected significantly by pH, soil water content (SWC), and TK, instead of soil organic carbon (SOC), SWC and C/P ratio in both habitats. Conclusions: Small gaps were not always significantly improved the composition of soil nutrients, but provided a good microenvironment for plant growth, species richness of major woody plant differed between habitats.

In this work, an efficient analytical method based on headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and multidimensional gas chromatography coupled with simultaneous quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and flame ionization detection (MDGC-QTOFMS/FID) was established to analyze volatile terpenoids of Rhododendron. The HS-SPME method were optimized for the best extraction efficiency by using divinylbenzenc/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fibers at 70 degrees C equilibration temperature for 20 min, and extracted for 15 min. A total of 34 volatile terpenoid compounds were identified by NIST mass spectral match, and confirmed by accurate mass and retention index (RI). Quantitative analysis was performed with an internal standard (IS) 1,4-cineole. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of most identified compounds were < 19.7% for intraday and 18.8% for interday measurements, respectively. Samples from six different Rhododendron species were analyzed, and the results indicated that monoterpenes and their oxygenated derivatives were the major components in all species of Rhododendron, including D-limonene (average 2781.69 mu g/kg), followed by P. cymene (average 254.52 mu g/kg), linalool (average 224.40 mu g/kg), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (average 150.39 mu g/kg) and a-terpineol (average 140.17 mu g/kg). Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to study the detailed differences in terpenoid concentrations in different parts of Rhododendron species.