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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #267813
Title: Semi-field evaluation of several novel alkenol analogs of 1-octen-3-ol as attractants to adult Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus.

Author
item CILEK, J. - Florida A & M University
item IKEDIOBI, C. - Florida A & M University
item HALLMON, C. - Florida A & M University
item JOHNSON, R. - Florida A & M University
item ONYEOZILI, E. - Florida A & M University
item FARAH, S. - Florida A & M University
item MAZU, T. - Florida A & M University
item LATINWO, L. - Florida A & M University
item AYUK-TAKEM, L. - Florida A & M University
item Bernier, Ulrich

Submitted to: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/2/2011
Publication Date: 9/1/2011
Citation: Cilek, J.E., Ikediobi, C.O., Hallmon, C.F., Johnson, R., Onyeozili, E.N., Farah, S.M., Mazu, T., Latinwo, L.M., Ayuk-Takem, L., Bernier, U.R. 2011. Semi-field evaluation of several novel alkenol analogs of 1-octen-3-ol as attractants to adult Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus.. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 27(3):256-262.

Interpretive Summary: Scientists at the USDA-ARS, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, FL, in collaboration with scientists from the Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL have studied a series of similar compounds to determine how well these compounds attract mosquitoes. There were 20 experimental compounds that were synthesized in the laboratory. These alcohol compounds were similar in structure to the well known mosquito attractant, 1-octen-3-ol. Experiments were designed to test if having carbon dioxide present with each alcohol resulted in a combination that was much more attractive. One alcohol, (Z)-3-hepten-1-ol, when tested without carbon dioxide was more effective than 1-octen-3-ol for the Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). When carbon dioxide was added to the experimental alcohols, the combinations of alcohol plus carbon dioxide were only as good as 1-octen-3-ol plus carbon dioxide in three cases for the Asian Tiger mosquito and in two cases for the Southern House mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus). For the other 17 compounds, the numbers of mosquitoes caught in traps was suppressed by the alcohol and carbon dioxide combinations.

Technical Abstract: The compound 1-octen-3-ol is a known attractant of some mosquito species which has led to the hypothesis that olfactory stimulation by this alkenol may be associated with the following structural elements: a terminal site of unsaturation or high electron density, a structural capability for hydrogen bonding e.g. -OH, -NH2, NHR, NR2 etc., a saturated hydrocarbon chain of a certain minimum length, and a certain relative distance between the region of high electron density and the alcohol (or other hydrogen-bonding) functional group. Using this logic, we synthesized 19 alkenol analogs based on the octenol double-bonded carbon skeleton. The attraction of adult Aedes albopictus Skuse and Culex quinquefasciatus Say to these analogs was compared with 1-octen-3-ol as a standard in semi-field trials. For both species, collections from MMX suction traps without carbon dioxide and baited with the alkenol analogs were not significantly different from octenol with the exception of (Z)-3-hepten-1-ol which collected significantly more Ae. albopictus. In the presence of CO2 most of the collections from traps baited with an alkenol were considerably increased for both species but again not different from octenol plus CO2 with the exception of Ae. albopictus where (Z)-4-hexen-1-ol, 7-octen-2-ol, and 8-nonen-3-ol significantly depressed trap catches. Also, MMX traps baited with carbon dioxide and 4-penten-2-ol or (E)-2-decen-4-ol significantly enhanced Cx. quinquefasciatus collections up to nearly 3-fold compared with octenol plus carbon dioxide.