Behavioural switch in the sex pheromone response of Nasonia vitripennis females is linked to receptivity signalling

Rüther, Joachim; Thal, Kathleen; Blaul, Birgit; Steiner, Sven

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.09.008

Cited by 36 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Males of N. vitripennis attract females by releasing a substrate-borne sex pheromone consisting of a mixture of (4R,5R)-and (4R,5S)-5-hydroxy-4-decanolides (HDLs) [34]. The response is shown by virgin females only [34][35][36] and is synergized by the trace component 4-methylquinazoline [37]. The HDLs are biosynthesized in the rectal vesicle of males [38] and released via the anal orifice by dabbing movements of the abdominal tip [39,40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia

Blaul

Rüther

2011

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Sexual selection theory predicts that phenotypic traits used to choose a mate should reflect honestly the quality of the sender and thus, are often costly. Physiological costs arise if a signal depends on limited nutritional resources. Hence, the nutritional condition of an organism should determine both its quality as a potential mate and its ability to advertise this quality to the choosing sex. In insects, the quality of the offspring's nutrition is often determined by the ovipositing female. A causal connection, however, between the oviposition decisions of the mother and the mating chances of her offspring has never been shown. Here, we demonstrate that females of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis prefer those hosts for oviposition that have been experimentally enriched in linoleic acid (LA). We show by 13 C-labelling that LA from the host diet is a precursor of the male sex pheromone. Consequently, males from LA-rich hosts produce and release higher amounts of the pheromone and attract more virgin females than males from LA-poor hosts. Finally, males from LA-rich hosts possess three times as many spermatozoa as those from LA-poor hosts. Hence, females making the right oviposition decisions may increase both the fertility and the sexual attractiveness of their sons.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia

Blaul

Rüther

2011

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…After emergence, males of N. vitripennis mark the substrate with a pheromone which is highly attractive to females (Ruther et al., , ). During courtship, another pheromone is applied to the female antennae, leading to a behavioral switch as a result of which females cease to react to the abdominal sex pheromone (Ruther et al., ; Ruther & Hammerl, ). This switch is also triggered when the female is courted by a male of N. giraulti (Ruther et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A possible mechanism for females to recognize conspecific males is the males’ courtship behavior, which consists of a stereotypic sequence of distinct behavioral elements. These include mounting the female and bouts of head‐nodding behavior – i.e., moving of the male mouthparts along the female's antennae – coupled with the transfer of a male aphrodisiac pheromone, eventually leading to female receptivity and copulation (van den Assem et al., ; Ruther et al., ). After copulation, males perform post‐copulatory courtship including additional series of head‐nodding behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The chemical basis of mate recognition in two parasitoid wasp species of the genus Nasonia

Mair

Kmezic

Huber

et al. 2017

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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To recognize one's mate is essential for all sexually reproducing animals. In insects, mate recognition is often based on chemical cues such as hydrocarbons which are distributed over the insect's cuticle. In the parasitoid wasp genus Nasonia (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), interspecific mating possibly occurs in microsympatry between Nasonia vitripennis Walker and Nasonia giraulti Darling despite post‐zygotic isolation mechanisms preventing hybridization. Males of N. vitripennis are known to equally court con‐ and heterospecific females, which they recognize by means of cuticular hydrocarbons. A recent study surprisingly showed that this might not be the case in N. giraulti, leaving open how males of this species achieve the recognition of mating partners. In this study, we investigated chemical mate recognition in N. giraulti in more detail and compared observed behaviors with behaviors of N. vitripennis by conducting experiments with both species concurrently and under the same experimental conditions. We disentangled the role of female‐derived non‐polar cuticular lipids – i.e., cuticular hydrocarbons – and more polar cuticular lipids in the ability of males to recognize con‐ and heterospecific females. In addition, we tested whether females of the two species discriminate similarly between con‐ and heterospecific males. We demonstrate that, in contrast to N. vitripennis, males of N. giraulti prefer live conspecific females over heterospecific ones. Furthermore, in contrast to N. vitripennis, mate recognition in N. giraulti males is not based on cuticular hydrocarbons, but rather involves other chemical messengers, presumably more polar cuticular lipids. In both species, discrimination against heterospecific males decreases with female age.

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“…vitripennis, Mair and Ruther, 2018). During encounters, female-derived cuticular lipids elicit courtship behavior in males (e.g., Roptrocerus xylophagorum, Sullivan, 2002) and in some species, courting males transfer an aphrodisiac from their antennal (e.g., Leptopilina spp., Weiss et al, 2015) or oral (e.g., N. vitripennis, Ruther et al, 2010) glands to the female's antennae. After mating, females typically use host-associated cues such as host pheromones or herbivoreinduced plant volatiles to locate adequate hosts (Vinson, 1976;Steidle and van Loon, 2002;Fatouros et al, 2008;Dicke, 2009;Turlings and Erb, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Ecology of the Parasitoid Wasp Genus Nasonia (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae)

Mair

Rüther

2019

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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The use of chemical cues and signals is essential for communication in insects. Wasps of the genus Nasonia (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae) are gregarious parasitoids that lay their eggs into puparia of cyclorrhaphous flies. During their life cycle, various kinds of semiochemicals are used: (1) a male abdominal sex pheromone that attracts females and induces site fidelity in males, (2) a female-derived contact sex pheromone eliciting courtship behavior in males, (3) an oral male aphrodisiac eliciting receptivity signaling in females and causing a switch in the females' olfactory preferences, (4) chemicals derived from host habitat and host puparia used in olfactory host finding by female wasps, and (5) chemicals used by females to assess the quality and parasitization status of potential hosts. We review the literature on the chemical ecology of Nasonia spp. following the wasps' life cycle from emergence to oviposition. We depict biosynthetic pathways where available, discuss ecological implications, highlight differences among Nasonia species, summarize insights into their olfactory perception and associative learning abilities, and point out gaps in our understanding of the chemical ecology of these parasitoids to be addressed in future studies.

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Behavioural switch in the sex pheromone response of Nasonia vitripennis females is linked to receptivity signalling

Cited by 36 publications

References 36 publications

How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia

How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia

The chemical basis of mate recognition in two parasitoid wasp species of the genus Nasonia

Chemical Ecology of the Parasitoid Wasp Genus Nasonia (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae)

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