Altered feeding behavior and immune competence in paper wasps: A case of parasite manipulation?

Autor: Lorenzo Cecchi, Federico Cappa, Marta Mariotti Lippi, Corrado Tani, Nadia Mulinacci, Claudia Giuliani, Duccio Cavalieri, Laura Beani, Niccolò Meriggi, Fabio Manfredini
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Male
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Life Cycles
Physiology
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Bignoniaceae
Chromatography
High Pressure Liquid
Feeding Behavior
Glucosides
Holometabola
Immunity
Innate
Immunocompetence
Larva
Mass Spectrometry
Phenols
Plant Nectar
Wasps
Host-Parasite Interactions
Social Sciences
Plant Science
01 natural sciences
Sepals
Medical Conditions
Medicine and Health Sciences
Psychology
Parasite hosting
Foraging
Flower Anatomy
Multidisciplinary
Animal Behavior
Plant Anatomy
Eukaryota
Calyx
Insects
Medicine
Buds
Research Article
Arthropoda
Parasitic Life Cycles
Science
Zoology
Xenos vesparum
macromolecular substances
Biology
Polistes dominula
010603 evolutionary biology
03 medical and health sciences
Parasitic Diseases
Nectar
Secretion
Behavior
fungi
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
biology.organism_classification
Hymenoptera
Invertebrates
030104 developmental biology
Campsis radicans
Parasitology
Physiological Processes
Entomology
Developmental Biology
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 12, p e0242486 (2020)
PLoS ONE
Popis: Paper wasps (Polistes dominula), parasitized by the strepsipteran Xenos vesparum, are castrated and desert the colony to gather on plants where the parasite mates and releases primary larvae, thus completing its lifecycle. One of these plants is the trumpet creeper Campsis radicans: in a previous study the majority of all wasps collected from this plant were parasitized and focused their foraging activity on C. radicans buds. The unexpected prevalence and unusual feeding strategy prompted us to investigate the influence of this plant on wasp behavior and physiology through a multidisciplinary approach. First, in a series of laboratory bioassays, we observed that parasitized wasps spent more time than non-parasitized ones on fresh C. radicans buds, rich of extra-floral nectaries (EFNs), while the same wasps ignored treated buds that lacked nectar drops. Then, we described the structure and ultra-structure of EFNs secreting cells, compatible with the synthesis of phenolic compounds. Subsequently, we analysed extracts from different bud tissues by HPLC-DAD-MS and found that verbascoside was the most abundant bioactive molecule in those tissues rich in EFNs. Finally, we tested the immune-stimulant properties of verbascoside, as the biochemical nature of this compound indicates it might function as an antibacterial and antioxidant. We measured bacterial clearance in wasps, as a proxy for overall immune competence, and observed that it was enhanced after administration of verbascoside—even more so if the wasp was parasitized. We hypothesize that the parasite manipulates wasp behavior to preferentially feed on C. radicans EFNs, since the bioactive properties of verbascoside likely increase host survival and thus the parasite own fitness.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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