The role of cuticular lipids in the behaviour of Triatomines

GONZÁLEZ, ANDRÉSS; LORENZO FIGUEIRAS, ALICIA; KOLENDER, ADRIANA A.

Valparaíso

Congreso; V Meeting of the Latin American Association of Chemical Ecology (ALAEQ); 2018

Latin American Association of Chemical Ecology

Insect cuticular lipids (CL) are usually involved in intraspecific chemical communication as contact pheromones for mate recognition or aggregation behaviour. The aim of the present work was to study the role of CL in sexual and aggregating behaviour. Firstly, we studied the role of CL in mating behaviour of the kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus. We recorded the frequency of copula of a male versus a female with different CL compositions (treatments). Results suggested that during copulation attempts, both males and females of R. prolixus are able to recognize themselves by detecting a differential relationship of a non-hydrocarbon lipid compound, cholesterol, present in their cuticle.Secondly, we focused on the aggregation behavior of another bug, Triatoma infestans This behaviour is mediated by thigmotaxis, a volatile signal presents in its faeces and/or by non-polar substances of low volatility that these insects leave footprints. Behavioural assays showed that T. infestans would leave traces of compounds that would come from glandular structures located in their tarsus. As a result, an aggregation behaviour of these insects is observed on these treated surfaces. Results of chemical analyses showed that linear and branched alkanes of long chain and aldehydes are predominant in greaterproportion on the tarsus than on the legs. These compounds or some of them might be components of tarsal glands of T. infestans. Taking into account that T. infestans and R. prolixus are vector of Chagas disease in South and Central America, the knowledge of the mechanisms underlying chemical intraspecificcommunication might help in the development of new tools useful to controlvectorial transmission.