Tools for detecting insect semiochemicals: a review

Abstract

Semiochemicals are chemical compounds that are released by many species as a means of intra- and interspecific communication. Insects have extremely advanced olfactory systems; indeed, they rely on smell when performing many of their main behaviors, such as oviposition, breeding, prey location, and defense. This characteristic of insects implies that semiochemicals could be used for various applications, including in agriculture, where they could be employed along with other tools to control pest insects. The aim of this review is to present the main techniques used and the state of the art in the detection of semiochemicals, focusing on pheromones. In addition to the traditional methods of identifying semiochemicals, such as gas chromatography coupled to a high-resolution detection mode (e.g., flame ionization (FID), electron capture (ECD), photoionization (PID), or mass spectrometry (MS)), other tools are addressed in this review, including sensors and biosensors. While these new technologies may be used under laboratory conditions to improve or complement technologies that are already being used, they are mainly intended for use as new agricultural tools for detecting and controlling pest insects in the field.

Applications of Biotechnology for Characterization of Plants and Pests as the Key Components of Plant Protection and Production Strategies: A Review

“…Chloroplast DNA sequencing (Wallinger et al, 2012) Microarray Diversity analysis (Galbraith and Edwards, 2010;Kiyama, 2017) Identification of pathogens (Rodrigo et al, 2014 Nanoencapsulated material delivery to plants and benefits in precision farming (Duhanet al, 2017;Kumar et al, 2017a;Mishra et al, 2017;Prasad et al, 2017;Abobatta 2018;Thaku et al, 2018) plant disease detection (Fang and Ramasamy. 2015;Martinelli et al, 2015;Lau and Botella, 2017;Kumar et al, 2017a;Cui et al, 2018), Diagnosis of plant diseases (Hussain 2017;Kumar et al, 2017a;Veeranna et al, 2017); Detection of insectpest (Liu et al, 2017a;Cui et al, 2018;Khandelwal and Joshi, 2018), detection insects semiochemicals (Brezolin et al, 2018) detection and measurement of weeds (Khandelwal and Joshi, 2018)…”

Tools in the Investigation of Volatile Semiochemicals on Insects: From Sampling to Statistical Analysis

“…In addition to instrumental techniques and behavioral assays, sensorics has also contributed to the development of different tools for the detection of bioactive semiochemicals on insects by means of chemo, bio and nanosensors selective toward semiochemicals. A recent review published by Brezolin et al, (2018) described the features and important details for the correct uses and scope of sensor-based detection of semiochemicals [185]. In the case of chemosensors, it is mentioned that electrochemical [e.g., potentiometric, conductimetric, or amperometric], piezoelectric [e.g., quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface acoustic wave (SAW)], and optical [e.g., surface plasmon resonance (SPR)] sensors can be used for semiochemical detection.…”

“…In the case of chemosensors, it is mentioned that electrochemical [e.g., potentiometric, conductimetric, or amperometric], piezoelectric [e.g., quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface acoustic wave (SAW)], and optical [e.g., surface plasmon resonance (SPR)] sensors can be used for semiochemical detection. However, the sensitivity, selectivity, and response time are not comparable to the olfactory systems of living organisms [185,186]. From this fact, the evaluation of molecular structures involved in odor detection [i.e., hydrophobic proteins known as odorant-binding proteins (OBPs)] is the most common practice to discover/develop biosensors for specific/selective detection of semiochemicals [187].…”

“…The most common application of nanosensors for semiochemical recognition is related to the cantilever modification used in atomic force microscopy (AFM). In this context, bioinspired cantilever nanosensors have better properties and advantages, which might promote the development of sensor arrays in the future to discriminate compounds at the femtogram level [185].…”

Pine Pitch Canker and Insects: Regional Risks, Environmental Regulation, and Practical Management Options

“…Other types of chemicals with significance in pest control are semiochemicals, which are chemical compounds that many insects release and use in intra-and interspecific communication [267]. The olfactory system of insects is advanced, allowing them to detect volatile signals from congeneric individuals and trees, which then guides their behaviors, such as oviposition or host selection.…”