Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
J Med Entomol. 2011 May;48(3):489-95. doi: 10.1603/me10133.
The sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva) (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) is the main vector of American visceral leishmaniasis. Adult males produce a terpenoid sex pheromone that in some cases also acts as male aggregation pheromone. We have analyzed the correlation between male pheromone production levels and pheromone gland cell morphogenesis after adult emergence from pupae. The abdominal tergites of L. longipalpis males were dissected and fixed in glutaraldehyde for transmission electron microscopy, or the pheromone was extracted in analytical grade hexane. Pheromone chemical analysis was carried out at 3- to 6-h intervals during the first 24 h after emergence and continued daily until the seventh day. All extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography. For the morphological analysis, we used insects collected at 0-6, 9-12, 12-14, and 96 h after emergence. Ultrastructural data from 0- to 6-h-old adult males revealed smaller pheromone gland cells with small microvilli at the end apparatus. Lipid droplets and peroxisomes were absent or very rare, but a large number of mitochondria could be seen. Lipid droplets started to appear in the gland cells cytoplasm approximately 9 h after adult emergence, and their number and size increased with age, together with the presence of several peroxisomes, suggesting a role for these organelles in pheromone biosynthesis. At 12-15 h after emergence, the lipid droplets were mainly distributed near the microvilli but were smaller than those in mature older males (4 d old). Pheromone biosynthesis started around 12 h after emergence and increased continuously during the first 3 d, stabilizing thereafter, coinciding with the period when males are more able to attract females.
沙蝇路氏长尾舌蝇（Lutz & Neiva）（双翅目：长角亚目：白蛉科）是美洲内脏利什曼病的主要传播媒介。成年雄性产生一种萜烯类性信息素，在某些情况下，它也充当雄性聚集信息素。我们分析了成年从蛹中出现后雄性信息素产生水平与信息素腺细胞形态发生之间的相关性。将路氏长尾舌蝇雄性的腹部节片解剖并固定在戊二醛中进行透射电子显微镜观察，或用分析级正己烷提取信息素。在出现后的前 24 小时内，每 3 至 6 小时提取一次信息素，直到第 7 天，每天继续提取。所有提取物均通过气相色谱进行分析。对于形态分析，我们使用在出现后 0-6、9-12、12-14 和 96 小时收集的昆虫。从 0 至 6 小时龄的成年雄性的超微结构数据显示，末端装置的小刺突上具有较小的信息素腺细胞。脂滴和过氧化物酶体不存在或非常罕见，但可以看到大量的线粒体。脂滴大约在成年后 9 小时开始出现在腺细胞的细胞质中，并且随着年龄的增长，其数量和大小增加，同时出现了几个过氧化物酶体，这表明这些细胞器在信息素生物合成中起作用。在出现后 12-15 小时，脂滴主要分布在微绒毛附近，但比成熟的老年雄性（4 天龄）中的小。信息素生物合成大约在出现后 12 小时开始，并在最初的 3 天内持续增加，此后稳定下来，与雄性更能吸引雌性的时期相吻合。
