Electroantennography Of Spined Soldier Bug Nymphs And Adults In The Undergraduate Laboratory: Design Of Apparatus
Location
Lobby in front of Auditorium
Department
Geography and Environmental Studies
Abstract
Earlier research in our laboratory demonstrated the possibility of conducting electroantennography (EAG) using readily available laboratory equipment, including a pH probe and data collection software. The pH probe (i.e. the electronic components, not the glass electrode) closely matches the high impedance of the antenna. We now refine the EAG technique with the goal of making it easy to conduct as an undergraduate laboratory experiment. We created instructions for assembly of a chamber shielded by a Faraday cage incorporating bare electrodes positioned so that mounting an insect head is facilitated, a regulated stream of humidified air, and an assembly to control the introduction of volatile compounds. This chamber requires only aluminum foil, plastic containers, BNC cable with electrodes, cardboard, tubing, and small clamps. An assembly to clean and humidify air and allow it to flow over a filter paper, saturated with a test sample or a blank, was made from standard glassware and tubing. In addition to the pH probe, interface, and software, a dissection microscope and microdissection tools are required. A colony of the beneficial, indigenous insect Podisus maculiventris,(the Spined Soldier Bug) can be reared in the classroom using deli containers and lids, coffee filters, paint brushes, tweezers, small glass shell vials, and mealworm larvae. Rearing a colony in the classroom allows access to P. maculiventris through all life stages. Using our low-cost, student-constructed system, we were able to measure the antennal response of P. maculiventris, nymphs and adults to major chemical components of the pheromone of the bug. Instars and adults have been reported 1 to be responsive to (E)-2-hexenal, which is a volatile compound found in both the odor of a pheromone produced by males and in green leaves, where it may be emitted during feeding by insects predated upon by P. maculiventris. 1 Our EAG experiment can be used with undergraduates in biology, biochemistry, physiology, or organic chemistry classes.
Electroantennography Of Spined Soldier Bug Nymphs And Adults In The Undergraduate Laboratory: Design Of Apparatus
Lobby in front of Auditorium
Earlier research in our laboratory demonstrated the possibility of conducting electroantennography (EAG) using readily available laboratory equipment, including a pH probe and data collection software. The pH probe (i.e. the electronic components, not the glass electrode) closely matches the high impedance of the antenna. We now refine the EAG technique with the goal of making it easy to conduct as an undergraduate laboratory experiment. We created instructions for assembly of a chamber shielded by a Faraday cage incorporating bare electrodes positioned so that mounting an insect head is facilitated, a regulated stream of humidified air, and an assembly to control the introduction of volatile compounds. This chamber requires only aluminum foil, plastic containers, BNC cable with electrodes, cardboard, tubing, and small clamps. An assembly to clean and humidify air and allow it to flow over a filter paper, saturated with a test sample or a blank, was made from standard glassware and tubing. In addition to the pH probe, interface, and software, a dissection microscope and microdissection tools are required. A colony of the beneficial, indigenous insect Podisus maculiventris,(the Spined Soldier Bug) can be reared in the classroom using deli containers and lids, coffee filters, paint brushes, tweezers, small glass shell vials, and mealworm larvae. Rearing a colony in the classroom allows access to P. maculiventris through all life stages. Using our low-cost, student-constructed system, we were able to measure the antennal response of P. maculiventris, nymphs and adults to major chemical components of the pheromone of the bug. Instars and adults have been reported 1 to be responsive to (E)-2-hexenal, which is a volatile compound found in both the odor of a pheromone produced by males and in green leaves, where it may be emitted during feeding by insects predated upon by P. maculiventris. 1 Our EAG experiment can be used with undergraduates in biology, biochemistry, physiology, or organic chemistry classes.
Comments
Charles Abrams is the faculty sponsor of this poster.