Linalool and lilac aldehyde/alcohol in flower scents: Electrophysiological detection of lilac aldehyde stereoisomers by a moth

The stereoisomers of linalool and lilac aldehyde/alcohol were determined in the flower scent of 15 plant species using enantioselective multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (enantio-MDGC/MS). Both linalool and all 8 stereoisomers of lilac alcohol and lilac aldehyde were detected, and there was a species-specific pattern. Single stereoisomers were collected by micropreparative-enantio-MDGC and were electrophysiologically tested on antennae of the noctuid moth Hadena bicruris, a species known to rely on lilac aldehyde for finding its host plant. The moth responded to all 8 stereoisomers, though only four stereoisomers were found in the scent of its host plant. The moth was less sensitive to some isomers than to others.