Insect Chemical Ecology: Pheromone Production and Perception

Dear Colleagues,

The insect olfactory system tuned to the human body, plant leaves, flowers, repellents, and intra-specific signals such as sex, aggregation, alarm, and trail “pheromones” has recently been proposed as a specific target for pest control (Picimbon, “Olfactory Concepts of Insect Control-Alternative to Insecticide”, 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland). This Topical Collection will collect current knowledge on the identification, production, regulation, and perception of “pheromones”, which are volatile natural chemical signals that, in the insect world, specifically change the behavior of others of the same species for adaptive responses. While skin odor chemical communication remains a mystery in humans (and most mammals), it is well known that insects have developed a variety of pheromone tissue cells, specialized glands and scent plaques for specific odor production, as well as remarkable machinery of enzymes, binding proteins, and receptors for odor recognition of sexual partners and host-plants in the primary olfactory detecting organs, the antennae. It is due to the existence of thousands of olfactory hairs (sensilla) covering the surface of antennal branches and thousands of olfactory receptor neurons within these sensilla that send projections to the insect brain. The scope of this Topical Collection is broad, as contributions should explore the significance of pheromones in fundamental and applied research.

Prof. Dr. Jean-François Picimbon
Collection Editor

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