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Gelambi M, Whitehead SR. Untargeted Metabolomics Reveals Fruit Secondary Metabolites Alter Bat Nutrient Absorption. J Chem Ecol 2024:10.1007/s10886-024-01503-z. [PMID: 38758510 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-024-01503-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
The ecological interaction between fleshy fruits and frugivores is influenced by diverse mixtures of secondary metabolites that naturally occur in the fruit pulp. Although some fruit secondary metabolites have a primary role in defending the pulp against antagonistic frugivores, these metabolites also potentially affect mutualistic interactions. The physiological impact of these secondary metabolites on mutualistic frugivores remains largely unexplored. Using a mutualistic fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata), we showed that ingesting four secondary metabolites commonly found in plant tissues affects bat foraging behavior and induces changes in the fecal metabolome. Our behavioral trials showed that the metabolites tested typically deter bats. Our metabolomic surveys suggest that secondary metabolites alter, either by increasing or decreasing, the absorption of essential macronutrients. These behavioral and physiological effects vary based on the specific identity and concentration of the metabolite tested. Our results also suggest that a portion of the secondary metabolites consumed is excreted by the bat intact or slightly modified. By identifying key shifts in the fecal metabolome of a mutualistic frugivore caused by secondary metabolite consumption, this study improves our understanding of the effects of fruit chemistry on frugivore physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Gelambi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Latham Hall RM 427, 220 Ag Quad Lane, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, USA.
- La Selva Biological Station, Organization for Tropical Studies, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Heredia Province, Costa Rica.
| | - Susan R Whitehead
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Latham Hall RM 427, 220 Ag Quad Lane, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, USA
- La Selva Biological Station, Organization for Tropical Studies, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Heredia Province, Costa Rica
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Barnett JR, Tieman DM, Caicedo AL. Variation in ripe fruit volatiles across the tomato clade: An evolutionary framework for studying fruit scent diversity in a crop wild relative. Am J Bot 2023; 110:e16223. [PMID: 37551422 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The scents of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are an important component of ripe fleshy fruit attractiveness, yet their variation across closely related wild species is poorly understood. Phylogenetic patterns in these compounds and their biosynthetic pathways offer insight into the evolutionary drivers of fruit diversity, including whether scent can communicate an honest signal of nutrient content to animal dispersers. We assessed ripe fruit VOC content across the tomato clade (Solanum sect. Lycopersicon), with implications for crop improvement since these compounds are key components of tomato flavor. METHODS We analyzed ripe fruit volatiles from 13 species of wild tomato grown in a common garden. Interspecific variations in 66 compounds and their biosynthetic pathways were assessed in 32 accessions, and an accession-level phylogeny was constructed to account for relatedness. RESULTS Wild tomato species can be differentiated by their VOCs, with Solanum pennellii notably distinct. Phylogenetic conservatism exists to a limited extent. Major cladewide patterns corresponded to divergence of the five brightly colored-fruited species from the nine green-fruited species, particularly for nitrogen-containing compounds (higher in colored-fruited) and esters (higher in green-fruited), the latter appearing to signal a sugar reward. CONCLUSIONS We established a framework for fruit scent evolution studies in a crop wild relative system, showing that each species in the tomato clade has a unique VOC profile. Differences between color groups align with fruit syndromes that could be driven by selection from frugivores. The evolution of colored fruits was accompanied by changes in biosynthetic pathways for esters and nitrogen-containing compounds, volatiles important to tomato flavor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob R Barnett
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Denise M Tieman
- Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Ana L Caicedo
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
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Gelambi M, Whitehead SR. Multiscale variability in nutrients and secondary metabolites in a bat-dispersed neotropical fruit. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10453. [PMID: 37664504 PMCID: PMC10474796 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Ripe fleshy fruits contain not only nutrients but also a diverse array of secondary metabolites. Nutrients serve as a reward for mutualists, whereas defensive metabolites protect the fruit against pests and predators. The composition of these chemical traits is highly variable, both across different plants and even within repeating structures on the same individual plant. This intraspecific and intraindividual variation has important fitness consequences for both plants and animals, yet patterns of variation and covariation in nutrients and secondary metabolites are not well understood, especially at smaller scales. Here, we investigate the multiscale variation and covariation between nutrients and defensive metabolites in Piper sancti-felicis ripe fruits. Means and measures of variation of sugars, proteins, phenolics, and alkenylphenols vary greatly among plants, and at least 50% of the trait variation occurs at the intraindividual level. Also, we found that proteins, but not sugars, were correlated with phenolics and alkenylphenols at multiple scales, suggesting trait variation in protein content may be more constrained than sugars. Our findings emphasize the importance of examining patterns across scales and provide the groundwork to better understand how complex patterns of variation and covariation in nutrients and defensive metabolites shape ecological interactions surrounding fruits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Gelambi
- Department of Biological SciencesVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBlacksburgVirginiaUSA
- La Selva Biological StationOrganization for Tropical StudiesPuerto Viejo de SarapiquíHeredia ProvinceCosta Rica
| | - Susan R. Whitehead
- Department of Biological SciencesVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBlacksburgVirginiaUSA
- La Selva Biological StationOrganization for Tropical StudiesPuerto Viejo de SarapiquíHeredia ProvinceCosta Rica
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Yohe LR, Fabbri M, Lee D, Davies KTJ, Yohe TP, Sánchez MKR, Rengifo EM, Hall RP, Mutumi G, Hedrick BP, Sadier A, Simmons NB, Sears KE, Dumont E, Rossiter SJ, Bhullar BAS, Dávalos LM. Ecological constraints on highly evolvable olfactory receptor genes and morphology in neotropical bats. Evolution 2022; 76:2347-2360. [PMID: 35904467 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Although evolvability of genes and traits may promote specialization during species diversification, how ecology subsequently restricts such variation remains unclear. Chemosensation requires animals to decipher a complex chemical background to locate fitness-related resources, and thus the underlying genomic architecture and morphology must cope with constant exposure to a changing odorant landscape; detecting adaptation amidst extensive chemosensory diversity is an open challenge. In phyllostomid bats, an ecologically diverse clade that evolved plant visiting from a presumed insectivorous ancestor, the evolution of novel food detection mechanisms is suggested to be a key innovation, as plant-visiting species rely strongly on olfaction, supplementarily using echolocation. If this is true, exceptional variation in underlying olfactory genes and phenotypes may have preceded dietary diversification. We compared olfactory receptor (OR) genes sequenced from olfactory epithelium transcriptomes and olfactory epithelium surface area of bats with differing diets. Surprisingly, although OR evolution rates were quite variable and generally high, they are largely independent of diet. Olfactory epithelial surface area, however, is relatively larger in plant-visiting bats and there is an inverse relationship between OR evolution rates and surface area. Relatively larger surface areas suggest greater reliance on olfactory detection and stronger constraint on maintaining an already diverse OR repertoire. Instead of the typical case in which specialization and elaboration are coupled with rapid diversification of associated genes, here the relevant genes are already evolving so quickly that increased reliance on smell has led to stabilizing selection, presumably to maintain the ability to consistently discriminate among specific odorants-a potential ecological constraint on sensory evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel R Yohe
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, USA.,Deaprtment of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28223, USA.,North Carolina Research Campus, Kannapolis, North Carolina, 28081, USA
| | - Matteo Fabbri
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA.,Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, 60605, USA
| | - Daniela Lee
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA.,Harvard School of Medicine, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02115, USA
| | - Kalina T J Davies
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | | | - Miluska K R Sánchez
- Escuela Profesional de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de Piura, Piura, 20004, Peru
| | - Edgardo M Rengifo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Ecologia Aplicada, Escola Superior de Agricultura 'Luiz de Queiroz', Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, 13416-970, Brazil.,Centro de Investigación Biodiversidad Sostenible (BioS), Lima, 15073, Peru
| | - Ronald P Hall
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, California, 95344, USA
| | - Gregory Mutumi
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, California, 95344, USA
| | - Brandon P Hedrick
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA
| | - Alexa Sadier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 90095, USA
| | - Nancy B Simmons
- Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, 10024, USA
| | - Karen E Sears
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 90095, USA
| | - Elizabeth Dumont
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, California, 95344, USA
| | - Stephen J Rossiter
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA.,Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
| | - Liliana M Dávalos
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, USA.,Center for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, USA
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DePasquale A, Hogan JD, Guadamuz Araya C, Dominy NJ, Melin AD. Aeroscapes and the Sensory Ecology of Olfaction in a Tropical Dry Forest. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.849281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aeroscapes—dynamic patterns of air speed and direction—form a critical component of landscape ecology by shaping numerous animal behaviors, including movement, foraging, and social and/or reproductive interactions. Aeroecology is particularly critical for sensory ecology: air is the medium through which many sensory signals and cues propagate, inherently linking sensory perception to variables such as air speed and turbulence. Yet, aeroscapes are seldom explicitly considered in studies of sensory ecology and evolution. A key first step towards this goal is to describe the aeroscapes of habitats. Here, we quantify the variation in air movement in two successional stages (early and late) of a tropical dry forest in Costa Rica. We recorded air speeds every 10 seconds at five different heights simultaneously. Average air speeds and turbulence increased with height above the ground, generally peaked midday, and were higher overall at the early successional forest site. These patterns of lower air speed and turbulence at ground level and overnight have important implications for olfactory foraging niches, as chemotaxis is most reliable when air movement is low and steady. We discuss our results in the context of possible selective pressures and observed variation in the foraging ecology, behaviors, and associated morphologies of resident vertebrates, with a focus on mammals. However, these data also have relevance to researchers studying socioecology, invertebrate biology, plant evolution, community ecology and more. Further investigation into how animals use different forest types, canopy heights and partition activities across different times of day will further inform our understanding of how landscape and sensory ecology are interrelated. Finally, we emphasize the timeliness of monitoring aeroecology as global wind patterns shift with climate change and human disturbance alters forest structure, which may have important downstream consequences for biological conservation.
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Yohe LR, Leiser-Miller LB, Kaliszewska ZA, Donat P, Santana SE, Dávalos LM. Diversity in olfactory receptor repertoires is associated with dietary specialization in a genus of frugivorous bat. G3 (Bethesda) 2021; 11:jkab260. [PMID: 34568918 PMCID: PMC8473985 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian olfactory receptor genes (ORs) are a diverse family of genes encoding proteins that directly interact with environmental chemical cues. ORs evolve via gene duplication in a birth-death fashion, neofunctionalizing and pseudogenizing over time. Olfaction is a primary sense used for food detection in plant-visiting bats, but the relationship between dietary specialization and OR repertoire diversity is unclear. Within neotropical Leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae), many lineages are plant specialists, and some have a distinct OR repertoire compared to insectivorous species. Yet, whether specialization on particular plant genera is associated with the evolution of specialized, less diverse OR repertoires has never been tested. Using targeted sequence capture, we sequenced the OR repertoires of three sympatric species of short-tailed fruit bats (Carollia), which vary in their degree of specialization on the fruits of Piper plants. We characterized orthologous vs duplicated receptors among Carollia species, and explored the diversity and redundancy of the receptor gene repertoire. At the species level, the most dedicated Piper specialist, Carollia castanea, had lower OR diversity compared to the two generalists (C. sowelli and C. perspicillata), but we discovered a few unique sets of ORs within C. castanea with high redundancy of similar gene duplicates. These unique receptors potentially enable C. castanea to detect Piper fruit odorants better than its two congeners. Carollia perspicillata, the species with the most generalist diet, had a higher diversity of intact receptors, suggesting the ability to detect a wider range of odorant molecules. Variation among ORs may be a factor in the coexistence of these sympatric species, facilitating the exploitation of different plant resources. Our study sheds light on how gene duplication and changes in OR diversity may play a role in dietary adaptations and underlie ecological interactions between bats and plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel R Yohe
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | | | | | - Paul Donat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Sharlene E Santana
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Liliana M Dávalos
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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Nelson AS, Whitehead SR. Fruit secondary metabolites shape seed dispersal effectiveness. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:1113-23. [PMID: 34509316 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) play a central role in seed dispersal and fruit defense, with potential for large impacts on plant fitness and demography. Yet because PSMs can have multiple interactive functions across seed dispersal stages, we must systematically study their effects to determine the net consequences for plant fitness. To tackle this issue, we integrate the role of fruit PSMs into the seed dispersal effectiveness (SDE) framework. We describe PSM effects on the quantity and quality of animal-mediated seed dispersal, both in pairwise interactions and diverse disperser communities, as well as trade-offs that occur across dispersal stages. By doing so, this review provides structure to a rapidly growing field and yields insights into a critical process shaping plant populations.
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Santana SE, Kaliszewska ZA, Leiser-Miller LB, Lauterbur ME, Arbour JH, Dávalos LM, Riffell JA. Fruit odorants mediate co-specialization in a multispecies plant-animal mutualism. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210312. [PMID: 34375556 PMCID: PMC8354748 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the widespread notion that animal-mediated seed dispersal led to the evolution of fruit traits that attract mutualistic frugivores, the dispersal syndrome hypothesis remains controversial, particularly for complex traits such as fruit scent. Here, we test this hypothesis in a community of mutualistic, ecologically important neotropical bats (Carollia spp.) and plants (Piper spp.) that communicate primarily via chemical signals. We found greater bat consumption is significantly associated with scent chemical diversity and presence of specific compounds, which fit multi-peak selective regime models in Piper. Through behavioural assays, we found Carollia prefer certain compounds, particularly 2-heptanol, which evolved as a unique feature of two Piper species highly consumed by these bats. Thus, we demonstrate that volatile compounds emitted by neotropical Piper fruits evolved in tandem with seed dispersal by scent-oriented Carollia bats. Specifically, fruit scent chemistry in some Piper species fits adaptive evolutionary scenarios consistent with a dispersal syndrome hypothesis. While other abiotic and biotic processes likely shaped the chemical composition of ripe fruit scent in Piper, our results provide some of the first evidence of the effect of bat frugivory on plant chemical diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharlene E. Santana
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | | | - M. Elise Lauterbur
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Jessica H. Arbour
- Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
| | - Liliana M. Dávalos
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Center for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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