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Scent releasing silicone septa: A versatile method for bioassays with volatiles


Huber, Franz K; Schiestl, Florian P (2022). Scent releasing silicone septa: A versatile method for bioassays with volatiles. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10:958982.

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds are of great importance for communication within biological systems. For the experimental investigation of the functions of volatiles, methods for experimental manipulation are needed. Based on scent-release methods from pheromone research, we describe a simple and cheap method for scent manipulation using silicone rubber (i.e. a silicone septum). Volatile compounds are applied to the septum by soaking the septa for 1 h in a solvent/volatile solution. After removal of the septum from the solution and a drying period of 1 h to allow for evaporation of the solvent, the silicone emits the volatiles at a continuously decreasing rate for a minimum of 24 h. In this study, we measure the variability of the emission and quantify the emission of 22 common floral scent compounds at four different time points and in four different soaking concentrations. Our results show that for the same compound and soaking concentration, variability of volatile emission was low, showing the method leads to repeatable emission rates and can be fine-tuned to the desired emission rate. We provide a calculation tool based on linear regression to allow an experimenter to calculate soaking concentration for each of the 22 compounds to achieve a desirable emission from the septa, as well as to estimate the emission rate of a volatile from the septa after a given time.

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds are of great importance for communication within biological systems. For the experimental investigation of the functions of volatiles, methods for experimental manipulation are needed. Based on scent-release methods from pheromone research, we describe a simple and cheap method for scent manipulation using silicone rubber (i.e. a silicone septum). Volatile compounds are applied to the septum by soaking the septa for 1 h in a solvent/volatile solution. After removal of the septum from the solution and a drying period of 1 h to allow for evaporation of the solvent, the silicone emits the volatiles at a continuously decreasing rate for a minimum of 24 h. In this study, we measure the variability of the emission and quantify the emission of 22 common floral scent compounds at four different time points and in four different soaking concentrations. Our results show that for the same compound and soaking concentration, variability of volatile emission was low, showing the method leads to repeatable emission rates and can be fine-tuned to the desired emission rate. We provide a calculation tool based on linear regression to allow an experimenter to calculate soaking concentration for each of the 22 compounds to achieve a desirable emission from the septa, as well as to estimate the emission rate of a volatile from the septa after a given time.

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Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:07 Faculty of Science > Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany
07 Faculty of Science > Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center
Dewey Decimal Classification:580 Plants (Botany)
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Physical Sciences > Ecology
Uncontrolled Keywords:Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Language:English
Date:29 September 2022
Deposited On:26 Feb 2023 10:39
Last Modified:30 Nov 2023 02:47
Publisher:Frontiers Research Foundation
ISSN:2296-701X
OA Status:Gold
Free access at:Publisher DOI. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.958982
Project Information:
  • : FunderSchweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
  • : Grant ID
  • : Project Title
  • Content: Published Version
  • Language: English
  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)