Levi-Zada Anat, Steiner Sara, Ben-Aziz Orna, Protasov Alex, Fefer Daniela, Kaspi Roy
Department of Entomology, Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion 7505101, Israel.
J Agric Food Chem. 2021 Mar 17;69(10):3026-3031. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c07543. Epub 2021 Mar 2.
The spherical mealybug, (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is a major global pest causing feeding damage to leaves and fruits of citrus varieties, soybean, mango, pomegranate, and grapevines. Females of the mealybug release a sex pheromone that was identified recently as a mixture of γ-necrodyl isobutyrate and γ-necrodol. The identification required synthesis based on a natural source of -α-necrodol, of unknown chirality, obtained from essential oil of Spanish lavender, . To determine the chirality of the sex pheromone, here, we synthesize the γ-necrodyl acetate enriched in (+)-()-enantiomer and separate the enantiomers using a lipase enzyme. We confirm that the natural components, both in the mealybug and in the lavender essential oil, consist of (-)-()-enantiomers. Bioassays conducted in the lab and field show that males are attracted to (-)-()-γ-necrodyl isobutyrate alone.
球粉蚧（半翅目：粉蚧科）是一种主要的全球害虫，会对柑橘品种、大豆、芒果、石榴和葡萄的叶片和果实造成取食危害。粉蚧雌虫会释放一种性信息素，最近被鉴定为γ-异丁酸坏死醇酯和γ-坏死醇的混合物。该鉴定需要基于从西班牙薰衣草精油中获得的未知手性的天然来源的-α-坏死醇进行合成。为了确定性信息素的手性，在此，我们合成了富含(+)-()-对映体的γ-乙酸坏死醇酯，并使用脂肪酶分离对映体。我们证实，粉蚧和薰衣草精油中的天然成分均由(-)-()-对映体组成。在实验室和田间进行的生物测定表明，雄性仅被(-)-()-γ-异丁酸坏死醇酯吸引。
