Host plants and obligate endosymbionts are not the sources for biosynthesis of the aphid alarm pheromone.

ABSTRACT

(E)-ß-farnesene (EßF) is the major component of the alarm pheromone of many aphid species, but where EßF is synthesized in aphids is only partly understood. There are at least three most possible sources for the alarm pheromone host plants, aphid obligate endosymbiont and aphids themselves. Here we eliminated the possibility of host plants and the obligate endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola as the sources for EßF released by aphids. We excluded the possible effects of host plants on EßF biosynthesis by rearing aphids on non-plant diets. Both the diet-reared aphids, including the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii and the green peach aphid Myzus persicae, could still release EßF based on solid-phase micro-extraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer analysis. Meanwhile, we treated host aphids with antibiotics to fully eliminate Buchnera bacteria. Though the treatment seriously affected the development and fecundity of host aphids, the treated aphids could still release EßF, and there was no significant difference in the EßF concentration as per the aphid weight under different rearing conditions. Taken together, our experimental results suggest that host plants and obligate endosymbionts are not the sources for EßF released by aphids, indicating that it is most probably the aphid itself synthesizes the alarm pheromone.