1989 PhD in Zoology, University of Munich, for research on insect sex pheromones at MPI Seewiesen, INRA Brouessy and FAW Wädenswil
2001 Professor in Plant Protection Sciences and Chemical Ecology, SLU
2009 Faculty Chair in Chemical Ecology, SLU Alnarp
Communication with odorants interconnects all living beings. Sex pheromones encode mate recognition, and semiochemicals produced by microorganisms and plants mediate food finding in animals. My research concerns the identification of pheromones and semiochemicals, and how this knowledge can be brought to practical application in safe plant protection, horticultural production and food processing.
Phero.Net AB
PhD Students - Main supervisor
Francisco Gonzalez (2013-2017): "Smells of sociality"
Felipe Borrero (2012-2016): “Social and environmental olfactory signals mediate insect behavioral ecology and evolution”
Marco Tasin, SLU Alnarp (2002-2005): "Sex, wine and chemical communication in grapevine moth Lobesia botrana"
Miryan Coracini, SLU Alnarp (1998-2002): "Semiochemicals claim territory - Sex pheromones and plant volatiles for control of codling moth and Brazilian apple leafroller"
Anna-Carin Bäckman, SLU Alnarp (1994-1999): "Olfactory communication in the codling moth, Cydia pomonella L."
Kwadha CA, Rehermann G, Tasso D, Fellous S, Bengtsson M, EA Wallin, Flöhr A, Witzgall P, Becher PG. 2024. Sex pheromone mediates resource partitioning between Drosophila melanogaster and D. suzukii. Evol Appl
17:e70042
Frey T et al. 2022. The human odorant receptor OR10A6 is tuned to the pheromone of the commensal fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. iScience 25:
105269
Ljunggren J et al. 2019. Yeast volatomes differentially effect larval feeding in an insect herbivore. Appl Environm Microbiol 85: e01761-19
Borrero-Echeverry F et al. 2018. Plant odour and sex pheromone are integral elements of specific mate recognition in an insect herbivore. Evolution 72:2225-2233
Lebreton S et al. 2017. A Drosophila female pheromone elicits species-specific long-range attraction via an olfactory channel with dual specificity for sex and food. BMC Biology 15:88
Mori BA et al. 2017. Enhanced yeast feeding following mating facilitates control of the invasive fruit pest Drosophila suzukii. J appl Ecol 54:170–177
Walker III WB et al. 2016. The chemosensory receptors of codling moth Cydia pomonella - expression in larvae and adults. Sci Rep 6:23518
Gonzalez F et al. 2016. Protocol for heterologous expression of insect odourant receptors in Drosophila. Front Ecol Evol 4:24
Witzgall P et al. 2012. "This is not an apple" - yeast mutualism in codling moth. J chem Ecol 38:949–957
Becher PG et al. 2012. Yeast, not fruit volatiles mediate attraction and development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Funct Ecol 26:822-828
Saveer AM et al. 2012. Floral to green: mating switches moth olfactory coding and preference. Proc R Soc B 279:2314-2322
Witzgall P et al. 2010. Sex pheromones and their impact on pest management. J chem Ecol 36:80-100
Witzgall P et al. 2008. Codling moth management and chemical ecology. Annu Rev Entomol 53:503–522