Lepidopteran formulations

Lepidopteran pheromones generally contain 10-20 carbon atoms with a single oxygenated functional group such as acetate, alcohol or aldehyde most have one or more sites of unsaturation. The compounds are quite volatile, and some, particularly the aldehydes, are unstable in air. All of these factors contribute to the need to formulate the pheromones in a... 

We have found that some of the commercial media designed for lepidopteran cells work satisfactorily for Drosophila cells. For example, the HyClone product CCM-3 is a convenient medium for Kc cells. It is particularly attractive in that its (proprietary) formulation obviates the need for serum. However, we have recently discovered that ecdysone-induced gene expression is unreliable in CCM-3. The general point is not that one medium is universally best, but that the investigator cannot assume that the process of interest is insensitive to medium changes it is important to test each medium for precisely those experiments it is intended to serve. 

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