Three-dimensional antennal lobe atlas of male and female moths, Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and glomerular representation of plant volatiles in females

Abstract

SUMMARY Spatiotemporal odour coding is thought to be linked closely with the specific glomerular anatomy of the primary olfactory centre. In most insects the number of the glomeruli within the antennal lobe is limited to fewer than 100, allowing their individual identification. In the grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana, a map of the antennal lobe glomeruli was reconstructed three-dimensionally, by comparing three different brains in males and females. The map of the antennal lobe of females served then as a basis to identify glomeruli containing dendritic arborisations of 14 physiologically characterised projection neurons. Projection neurons responding to the same plant compound did not always arborise in the same glomerulus and some neurons arborising in the same glomerulus responded to different compounds. Different zones of target glomeruli were, however,identified when pooling all neurons responding to one of two different compounds respectively (α-farnesene and nonatriene). All identified glomeruli of specifically responding projection neurons were situated close to the anterior surface of the antennal lobe. One broadly responding projection neuron arborised in a more posteriorly situated glomerulus. A local interneuron responding to only one compound was arborising densely in a neighbouring glomerulus and had sparse branches in all other glomeruli. These results are discussed with respect to plant odour processing and structure-function relations in antennal lobe neurons. The 3D AL atlas will,in the future, also be used to obtain a better understanding of coding mechanisms of grapevine odours in this pest insect.