Abstracts - Association for Chemoreception Sciences

#P187 POSTER SESSION IV:
CHEMICAL SIGNALING AND BEHAVIOR;
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR/PSYCHOPHYSICS;
CHEMOSENSATION AND METABOLISM;
VOMERONSASAL AND CHEMICAL
COMMUNICATION
Differential responses to two kairomonal cues in mosquitoes
Shahid Majeed, Sharon R. Hill, Teun Dekker, Göran Birgersson,
Rickard Ignell
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp, Sweden
#P188 POSTER SESSION IV:
CHEMICAL SIGNALING AND BEHAVIOR;
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR/PSYCHOPHYSICS;
CHEMOSENSATION AND METABOLISM;
VOMERONSASAL AND CHEMICAL
COMMUNICATION
Effects of 5a-Androst-16-EN-3a-OL Scent Administration
on Augmenting Male Gambling Behavior
Sierra Moore, Bryan Raudenbush, Patrick Dwyer
Wheeling Jesuit University Wheeling, WV, USA
Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, and Anopheles gambiae are
vectors of diseases that are among the main causes of human
mortality and morbidity worldwide. Host-seeking in these species
is primarily regulated by olfactory cues. The most important cue
for the activation of host-seeking is carbon dioxide (CO 2
), the
principal by-product of respiration. All three mosquito species
were able to detect and follow pulsed stimuli of CO 2
at the level
of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) housed within capitate
pegs on the maxillary palps. The temporal coding capacity of C.
quinquefasciatus CO 2
-sensitive ORNs, however, was significantly
lower than that of the other two species. This differential
physiological response was reflected in the behavioral response
to CO 2
, and correlates with the CO 2
emissions from the preferred
hosts for each of these species. Furthermore, aeration extracts
taken from preferred hosts were analyzed by gas chromatography
coupled single sensillum recording (GC-SSR) of the capitate
pegs. We identified (R)-1-octen-3-ol, a component in human
headspace volatiles, as a physiologically active in each species,
although with different sensitivities. It is interesting to note that
(R)-1-octen-3-ol was absent from bird aeration extracts. Landing
bioassays using the host aeration extracts revealed behavioral
responses of the three species consistent with their host selection
preferences. The addition of biologically relevant concentrations
of (R)-1- octen-3-ol to bird aeration extracts either inhibited or
increased the behavioral response of the mosquitoes, consistent
with its role as a non-host and host volatile, respectively. Here,
we show that the host-seeking behavior of mosquitoes may be
differentially regulated by olfactory signals emitted by potential
hosts in their environment.
The effects of pheromones on non-humans have been extensively
studied. However, less is known on how such scents can elicit
responses in humans. Previous research indicates that the
scent of a female can affect various emotions and behaviors of
males. The present study assessed the effects of Androstenol
on gambling behavior in males. Participants completed an ad
libitum blackjack gambling task while exposed to either no
scent (control) or androstenol (experimental condition). Results
indicate males gambled for a significantly longer period of time
when exposed to androstenol, t(36) = 2.09, pA), which changes
amino acid 180 in the resultant protein’s polypeptide chain from
glycine (G) to arginine (R), were found to have significantly less
of the characteristic axillary odorants than either those who
are heterozygotic for this change or those who had the wild
type gene. Asian populations differ markedly from non-Asians
in their ear wax type and underarm odor production. G180R
SNP also is associated with a dry, white earwax phenotype that
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Abstracts are printed as submitted by the author(s).
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