Chemical identification of an active component and putative neural mechanism for repellent effect of a native ant's odor on invasive species

Tatsuya Uebi; Tomoya Sakita; Ryo Ikeda; Keita Sakanishi; Tomoaki Tsutsumi; Zijian Zhang; Huiying Ma; Ryosuke Matsubara; Shigeru Matsuyama; Satoko Nakajima; Rong-Nan Huang; Shunya Habe; Abraham Hefetz; Mamiko Ozaki

doi:10.3389/fphys.2022.844084

Chemical identification of an active component and putative neural mechanism for repellent effect of a native ant's odor on invasive species

Front Physiol. 2022 Aug 30:13:844084. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.844084. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Tatsuya Uebi^{1

2}, Tomoya Sakita¹, Ryo Ikeda¹, Keita Sakanishi¹, Tomoaki Tsutsumi³, Zijian Zhang³, Huiying Ma³, Ryosuke Matsubara³, Shigeru Matsuyama⁴, Satoko Nakajima⁵, Rong-Nan Huang⁶, Shunya Habe¹, Abraham Hefetz⁷, Mamiko Ozaki^{1

2

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan.
² KYOUSEI Science Center for Life and Nature, Nara Women's University, Nara, Japan.
³ Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan.
⁴ Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
⁵ Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan.
⁶ Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
⁸ Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan.
⁹ Morphogenetic Signaling Team, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan.

Abstract

The invasive Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) and the red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) constitute a worldwide threat, causing severe disruption to ecological systems and harming human welfare. In view of the limited success of current pest control measures, we propose here to employ repellents as means to mitigate the effect of these species. We demonstrate that cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) used as nestmate-recognition pheromone in the Japanese carpenter ant (Camponotus japonicus), and particularly its (Z)-9-tricosene component, induced vigorous olfactory response and intense aversion in these invasive species. (Z)-9-Tricosene, when given to their antennae, caused indiscriminate glomerular activation of antennal lobe (AL) regions, creating neural disarray and leading to aversive behavior. Considering the putative massive central neural effect, we suggest that the appropriate use of certain CHCs of native ants can facilitate aversive withdrawal of invasive ants.

Keywords: brain activity; cuticle hydrocarbon; invasive ant; olfactory response; repellent.