Always being well prepared for defense: The production of deterrents by juvenile Chrysomelina beetles (Chrysomelidae)
| Autor: | Sabrina Discher, Karla Tolzin-Banasch, Maritta Kunert, Antje Burse, Anja Strauß, Roy Kirsch, Wilhelm Boland, Sindy Frick |
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| Rok vydání: | 2009 |
| Předmět: |
Malpighian tubule system
Plant Science Horticulture Biochemistry Predation Glucosides Animals Iridoids Molecular Biology Larva Molecular Structure biology fungi Biological Transport General Medicine Metabolism Plants biology.organism_classification Biological Evolution Coleoptera Plant Leaves De novo synthesis Chemical ecology Chemical defense Leaf beetle |
| Zdroj: | Phytochemistry. 70:1899-1909 |
| ISSN: | 0031-9422 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.phytochem.2009.08.002 |
| Popis: | In response to herbivores, plants produce a variety of natural compounds. Many beetle species have developed ingenious strategies to cope with these substances, including colonizing habitats not attractive for other organisms. Leaf beetle larvae of the subtribe Chrysomelina, for example, sequester plant-derived compounds and use them for their own defense against predators. Using systematically modified structural mimics of plant-derived glucosides, we demonstrated that all tested Chrysomelina larvae channel compounds from the gut lumen into the defensive glands, where they serve as intermediates in the synthesis of deterrents. Detailed studies of the sequestration process revealed a functional network of transport processes guiding phytochemicals through the larval body. The initial uptake by the larvae's intestine seems to be fairly unspecific, which contrasts sharply with the specific import of precursors into the defensive glands. The Malpighian tubules and hind-gut organs facilitate the rapid clearing of body fluid from excess or unusable compounds. The network exists in both sequestering species and species producing deterrents de novo. Transport proteins are also required for de novo synthesis to channel intermediates from the fat body to the defensive glands for further conversion. Thus, all the tools needed to exploit host plants' chemistry by more derived Chrysomelina species are already developed by iridoid-de novo producers. Early intermediates from the iridoid-de novo synthesis which also can be sequestered are able to regulate the enzyme activity in the iridoid metabolism. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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