Temporal dynamics of antennal responses encode plant stress and ecological relevance in Spodoptera littoralis moths
Abstract
Polyphagous insects draw fitness-relevant information from complex plant odor blends, yet electroantennography (EAG) studies often emphasize response amplitude rather than temporal structure. We combined natural plant volatile stimuli, temporal EAG analysis, and machine-learning classification to examine the responses of male and female Spodoptera littoralis antennae to host/edible plants, non-hosts, and drought-stressed plants. EAGs entailed much information about plant volatiles. Female responses showed stronger functional organization and higher classification performance for the above-mentioned categories, particularly for non-host plants, whereas males retained discrimination only under high-contrast stress conditions. These findings suggest that peripheral antennal dynamics preserve biologically relevant information about plant suitability and physiological state. More broadly, this framework offers a new approach for linking peripheral olfactory physiology with future electrophysiological and behavioral experiments.
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BibTeX
@article{eshel2026temporal,
title = {{Temporal dynamics of antennal responses encode plant stress and ecological relevance in Spodoptera littoralis moths}},
author = {Guy Zer Eshel and Neta Shvil and Michael Davidovitz and Dana Ment and Yossi Yovel},
journal = {iScience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.117941},
url = {https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03324-9},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Temporal dynamics of antennal responses encode plant stress and ecological relevance in Spodoptera littoralis moths
AU - Guy Zer Eshel
AU - Neta Shvil
AU - Michael Davidovitz
AU - Dana Ment
AU - Yossi Yovel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - iScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117941
UR - https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03324-9
AB - Polyphagous insects draw fitness-relevant information from complex plant odor blends, yet electroantennography (EAG) studies often emphasize response amplitude rather than temporal structure. We combined natural plant volatile stimuli, temporal EAG analysis, and machine-learning classification to examine the responses of male and female Spodoptera littoralis antennae to host/edible plants, non-hosts, and drought-stressed plants. EAGs entailed much information about plant volatiles. Female responses showed stronger functional organization and higher classification performance for the above-mentioned categories, particularly for non-host plants, whereas males retained discrimination only under high-contrast stress conditions. These findings suggest that peripheral antennal dynamics preserve biologically relevant information about plant suitability and physiological state. More broadly, this framework offers a new approach for linking peripheral olfactory physiology with future electrophysiological and behavioral experiments.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -