HOW IS PHEROMONE STEREOCHEMISTRY REGULATED IN LPS BARK BEETLES

• Sponsoring Institution: State Agricultural Experiment Station
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: STATE
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0226921
• Project Start Date: Aug 15, 2011
• Project End Date: Jul 31, 2014
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
(N/A)
RENO,NV 89557

Performing Department
Biochemistry

Non Technical Summary
Bark beetles are among the most significant economic pests in North America, causing the loss of billions of board feet of timber each year and adding to the fuel load that contributed to the devastating wild fires in the western U.S. over the past several decades. The long term goal of this project is to develop new and effective pest management tactics based on pheromone systems. Except for a brief pheromone directed flight, bark beetles spend the majority of their lives protected beneath the bark of the trees they colonize and kill. Pheromones are essential for beetles to mount the 'mass attack' that leads to tree death. Results from prior NSF grants have led us our current understanding of pheromone production and the work proposed herein will allow the final steps to be determined and gain an understanding of how the chiral pheromone stereochemistry is achieved and shed light on how it is evolving.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

100%

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
211	3110	1130	100%

Knowledge Area
211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
3110 - Insects;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;

Keywords

bark beetle

pheromone

timber loss

pest management

fuel load

Goals / Objectives
Objectives: 1. Isolate, express and characterize the IDOL DH from eastern I. pini. 2. Isolate, express and characterize the ipsdienone to ipsenone reductase (IDONER) from western and eastern I. pini and I. confusus. 3. Determine the kinetics of IDOL DH and IDONER in western and eastern I. pini and I. confusus with respect to +/- ipsdienol, ipsdienone, ipsenone and +/- ipsenol to determine

Project Methods
The approach will be to express target genes identified from EST and microarray studies that are involved in oxidizing ipsdienol to ipsdienone and then sterospecifically reducing it to ipsdienol and the reduction of ipsdienone to ipsenone and then to ipsenol. Kinetics of the expressed proteins will be determined by assaying expressed enzymes to determine the role of each enzyme in determining the final and species specific pheromone blend. By understanding the substrate specificity and product specificity of these two oxidoreductases, we will gain an understanding as to how the final ipsdienoVipsenol ratios and +/- ratios of products are achieved.

Progress 08/15/11 to 07/31/14

Outputs
OUTPUTS: For additional information, please contact Gary Blomquist at 775-784-6031 or [e-mail] PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
For additional information, please contact Gary Blomquist at 775-784-6031 or [e-mail]

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Completed an NBClearn video on our bark beetle research. Ongoing work includes setting up and running as assay to assay the NADH/NAD and NADPH/NADP levels in midguts of pheromone producing beetles, attempting clone the gene that converts ipsdienone to ipsenone and express and characteie ipsdienol dehydrogenase from Eastern Ips pini. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Rubi Figueroa-Teran, post-doctoral Nicole Abbott, graduate student Heidi Pak, technician Dr. Claus Tittiger, collaborator Dr. William Welch, collaborator TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
An ipsdienol dehydrogenase (IDOLDH)was characterized and shown to function in the termal steps of ipsdienol production in Ips spp. bark beetles. It was expressed in Sf9 cells and readily converts (-) ipsdienol, but not (+) ipsdienol, to ipsdienone.

Publications

• Figueroa-Teran, R., Welch, W.H., Blomquist, G.J. and Tittiger, C. 2012. Ipsdienol dehydrogenase (IDOLDH): a novel oxidoreductase important for Ips pini pheromone production. Insect Biochem. Molec. Biol. 42:81-90.