The origin and dynamic evolution of chemical information transfer

Steiger, Sandra; Schmitt, Thomas; Schaefer, H. Martin

doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.2285

Cited by 148 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Combined with evidence that commonly released hormones function as pheromones in many fishes (Stacey, 2015), our results raise questions regarding species-specificity as a tenet of pheromone communication in vertebrates (Wyatt, 2014). Lastly, we suggest that P. marinus is a useful system for the study of how sexual signals function and evolve, which is less often studied from the perspective of chemical communication compared with other sensory modalities (Andersson, 1994;Coleman, 2009;Steiger et al, 2011), particularly in vertebrates (Johansson and Jones, 2007;Symonds and Elgar, 2008). marinus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, pheromone blends used by bark beetles (Dendroctonus and Ips species) are equally as different in distantly and closely related species (Symonds and Elgar, 2004). Although the evolution of species-specific pheromone blends in insects is increasingly well described (Symonds and Elgar, 2008;Steiger et al, 2011), similar macro-evolutionary studies of vertebrate pheromones are under-represented (Symonds and Elgar, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Evidence for partial overlap of male olfactory cues in lampreys

Buchinger

Huertas

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Animals rely on a mosaic of complex information to find and evaluate mates. Pheromones, often consisting of multiple components, are considered to be particularly important for species-recognition in many species. Although the evolution of species-specific pheromone blends is well described in many insects, very few vertebrate pheromones have been studied in a macro-evolutionary context. Here, we report a phylogenetic comparison of multi-component male odours that guide reproduction in lampreys. Chemical profiling of sexually mature males from eleven species of lamprey, representing six of ten genera and two of three families, indicated that the chemical profiles of sexually mature male odours are partially shared among species. Behavioural assays conducted with four species sympatric in the Laurentian Great Lakes indicated asymmetric female responses to heterospecific odours, where Petromyzon marinus were attracted to male odour collected from all species tested, but other species generally preferred only the odour of conspecifics. Electro-olfactogram recordings from P. marinus indicated that although P. marinus exhibited behavioural responses to odours from males of all species, at least some of the compounds that elicited olfactory responses were different in conspecific male odours compared with heterospecific male odours. We conclude that some of the compounds released by sexually mature males are shared among species and elicit olfactory and behavioural responses in P. marinus, and suggest that our results provide evidence for partial overlap of male olfactory cues among lampreys. Further characterization of the chemical identities of odour components is needed to confirm shared pheromones among species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Evidence for partial overlap of male olfactory cues in lampreys

Buchinger

Huertas

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…The decreased response to plants with high linalool emissions may exist because of constraints to the evolution of insect behavioural responses, such as neurological constraints to sensory mechanisms (Bernays, 2001;Egan and Funk, 2006;Janz, 2003). Metabolic (fitness) costs of the volatile, or its non-volatile precursors, may have existed in ancestral insect populations, but have since been overcome (Bernays and Chapman, 1994;Steiger et al, 2011). Interestingly, our findings on H. armigera oviposition responses to linalool differ markedly from a recent study on Manduca sexta moths, which used synthetic volatile blends to mimic Datura wrightii floral odours, and demonstrated that only blends with higher levels of (R)-isomer had deterrent effects on oviposition, and that increased (S)-linalool within blends was more attractive to nectarfeeding adult M. sexta moths (Reisenman et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased plant volatile production affects oviposition, but not larval development, in the moth Helicoverpa armigera

McCallum

Cunningham

Lücker

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYIt is well established that herbivorous insects respond to changes in plant odour production, but little attention has been given to whether these responses relate to direct fitness costs of plant volatile production on insect growth and survival. Here, we use transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) plants that produce relatively large amounts of the volatile (S)-linalool to study whether the responses of egg-laying herbivorous insects to linalool production relate directly to the growth and survival of offspring. In choice tests, fewer eggs were laid on transgenic plants compared with non-transformed controls, indicating that increased linalool emissions have a deterrent effect on Helicoverpa armigera oviposition. Larval survival and larval mass after feeding on transgenic leaves, however, was comparable to non-transformed controls. (S)-linalool, whether in volatile or sequestered form, does not appear to have a direct effect on offspring fitness in this moth. We discuss how the ecology of this polyphagous moth species may necessitate a high tolerance for certain volatiles and their related non-volatile compounds, and suggest that responses by adult female H. armigera moths towards increased linalool production may be context specific and relate to other indirect effects on fitness.Supplementary material available online at

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“…Insertion of double bonds or methyl-branching decreases anti-desiccation capacity [11,12], but increases information content [13,14]. Increasing the fraction of alkenes and methylalkanes in the profile facilitates chemical communication [15]. The insect CHC profile is therefore likely to be under differential selection, varying between castes [16,17], tasks [8,9,18], fertility states [19,20] and positions in the social hierarchy [21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of slavemaking lifestyle, caste and sex on chemical profiles in Temnothorax ants: insights into the evolution of cuticular hydrocarbons

Kleeberg¹,

Menzel²,

Foitzik³

2017

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Chemical communication is central for the formation and maintenance of insect societies. Generally, social insects only allow nest-mates into their colony, which are recognized by their cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). Social parasites, which exploit insect societies, are selected to circumvent host recognition. Here, we studied whether chemical strategies to reduce recognition evolved convergently in slavemaking ants, and whether they extend to workers, queens and males alike. We studied CHCs of three social parasites and their related hosts to investigate whether the parasitic lifestyle selects for specific chemical traits that reduce host recognition. Slavemaker profiles were characterized by shorter-chained hydrocarbons and a shift from methyl-branched alkanes to n -alkanes, presumably to reduce recognition cue quantity. These shifts were consistent across independent origins of slavery and were found in isolated ants and those emerging in their mother colony. Lifestyle influenced profiles of workers most profoundly, with little effect on virgin queen profiles. We detected an across-species caste signal, with workers, for which nest-mate recognition is particularly important, carrying more and longer-chained hydrocarbons and males exhibiting a larger fraction of n -alkanes. This comprehensive study of CHCs across castes and species reveals how lifestyle-specific selection can result in convergent evolution of chemical phenotypes.

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The origin and dynamic evolution of chemical information transfer

Cited by 148 publications

References 92 publications

Evidence for partial overlap of male olfactory cues in lampreys

Evidence for partial overlap of male olfactory cues in lampreys

Increased plant volatile production affects oviposition, but not larval development, in the moth Helicoverpa armigera

The influence of slavemaking lifestyle, caste and sex on chemical profiles in Temnothorax ants: insights into the evolution of cuticular hydrocarbons

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