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Brooks OL, James JJ, Saporito RA. Maternal chemical defenses predict offspring defenses in a dendrobatid poison frog. Oecologia 2023; 201:385-396. [PMID: 36637523 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05314-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Within and among populations, alkaloid defenses of the strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) vary spatially, temporally, and with life history stage. Natural variation in defense has been implicated as a critical factor in determining the level of protection afforded against predators and pathogens. Oophaga pumilio tadpoles sequester alkaloids from nutritive eggs and are, thus, entirely dependent on their mothers for their defense. However, it remains unclear how tadpole alkaloid composition relates to that of its mother and how variation in maternally provisioned defenses might result in varying levels of protection against predators. Here, we demonstrate that natural variation in the alkaloid composition of a mother frog is reflected as variation in her tadpole's alkaloid composition. Tadpoles, like mother frogs, varied in their alkaloid composition but always contained the identical alkaloids found in their mother. Alkaloid quantity in tadpoles was highly correlated with alkaloid quantity in their mothers. Additionally, alkaloid quantity was the best predictor of tadpole palatability, wherein tadpoles with higher alkaloid quantities were less palatable. Mother frogs with greater quantities of alkaloids are, thus, providing better protection for their offspring by provisioning chemical defenses during one of the most vulnerable periods of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia L Brooks
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61701, USA.,Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, 44118, USA
| | - Jessie J James
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA
| | - Ralph A Saporito
- Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, 44118, USA.
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Burdfield-Steel E, Pakkanen H, Rojas B, Galarza JA, Mappes J. De novo Synthesis of Chemical Defenses in an Aposematic Moth. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2018; 18:4939106. [PMID: 29718491 PMCID: PMC5946834 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iey020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Many animals protect themselves from predation with chemicals, both self-made or sequestered from their diet. The potential drivers of the diversity of these chemicals have been long studied, but our knowledge of these chemicals and their acquisition mode is heavily based on specialist herbivores that sequester their defenses. The wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis, Linnaeus, 1758) is a well-studied aposematic species, but the nature of its chemical defenses has not been fully described . Here, we report the presence of two methoxypyrazines, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, in the moths' defensive secretions. By raising larvae on an artificial diet, we confirm, for the first time, that their defensive compounds are produced de novo rather than sequestered from their diet. Pyrazines are known for their defensive function in invertebrates due to their distinctive odor, inducing aversion and facilitating predator learning. While their synthesis has been suspected, it has never previously been experimentally confirmed. Our results highlight the importance of considering de novo synthesis, in addition to sequestration, when studying the defensive capabilities of insects and other invertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Burdfield-Steel
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, FI, Finland
| | - Hannu Pakkanen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, FI, Finland
| | - Juan A Galarza
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, FI, Finland
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, FI, Finland
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3
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Variation in defensive chemistry within a polyphagous Baikal population of Chrysomela lapponica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): potential benefits in a multi-enemy world. POPUL ECOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10144-017-0601-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Rojas B, Burdfield-Steel E, Pakkanen H, Suisto K, Maczka M, Schulz S, Mappes J. How to fight multiple enemies: target-specific chemical defences in an aposematic moth. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20171424. [PMID: 28954910 PMCID: PMC5627206 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals have evolved different defensive strategies to survive predation, among which chemical defences are particularly widespread and diverse. Here we investigate the function of chemical defence diversity, hypothesizing that such diversity has evolved as a response to multiple enemies. The aposematic wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) displays conspicuous hindwing coloration and secretes distinct defensive fluids from its thoracic glands and abdomen. We presented the two defensive fluids from laboratory-reared moths to two biologically relevant predators, birds and ants, and measured their reaction in controlled bioassays (no information on colour was provided). We found that defensive fluids are target-specific: thoracic fluids, and particularly 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which they contain, deterred birds, but caused no aversive response in ants. By contrast, abdominal fluids were particularly deterrent to ants, while birds did not find them repellent. Our study, to our knowledge, is the first to show evidence of a single species producing separate chemical defences targeted to different predator types, highlighting the importance of taking into account complex predator communities in studies on the evolution of prey defence diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bibiana Rojas
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä 40001, Finland
| | - Emily Burdfield-Steel
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä 40001, Finland
| | - Hannu Pakkanen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9, Jyväskylä 40500, Finland
| | - Kaisa Suisto
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä 40001, Finland
| | - Michael Maczka
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Hagenring 30, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Stefan Schulz
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Hagenring 30, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä 40001, Finland
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TRIPONEZ Y, BUERKI S, BORER M, NAISBIT RE, RAHIER M, ALVAREZ N. Discordances between phylogenetic and morphological patterns in alpine leaf beetles attest to an intricate biogeographic history of lineages in postglacial Europe. Mol Ecol 2011; 20:2442-63. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05096.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Borer M, Van Noort T, Rahier M, Naisbit RE. POSITIVE FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT SELECTION ON WARNING COLOR IN ALPINE LEAF BEETLES. Evolution 2010; 64:3629-33. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01137.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Differences in defensive volatiles of the forked fungus beetle, Bolitotherus cornutus, living on two species of fungus. J Chem Ecol 2009; 35:1302-8. [PMID: 19936835 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-009-9712-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2009] [Revised: 10/19/2009] [Accepted: 10/25/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Forked fungus beetles, Bolitotherus cornutus, feed, mate, and live on the brackets of several species of shelf fungus that grow on decaying logs. In response to the specific threat stimulus of mammalian breath, B. cornutus beetles produce a volatile defensive secretion. We tested beetles collected from different host fungi to determine whether defensive secretion blends varied with host type. Using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we detected large amounts of the alkylated benzoquinones, methyl-p-benzoquinone (toluquinone) and ethyl-p-benzoquinone, and smaller quantities of p-benzoquinone, 3-methylphenol (m-cresol), 3-ethylphenol, 2-methylhydroquinone, and 2-ethylhydroquinone in secretions. Volatile composition did not differ between male and female beetles. Secretions did differ between beetles collected from two species of fungus, Ganoderma applanatum and Fomes fomentarius, with the relative amount of p-benzoquinone secreted being the most important factor. Other relationships among the volatile components are discussed.
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