scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity in chemical defence allows butterflies to diversify host use strategies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Érika C. P. de Castro ◽  
Jamie Musgrove ◽  
Søren Bak ◽  
W. Owen McMillan ◽  
Chris D. Jiggins
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Chemical Defence ◽  
Host Use ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Cyanogenic Glucosides ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Biochemical Responses ◽  
Heliconius Cydno

AbstractHostplant specialization is a major force driving ecological niche partitioning and diversification in insect herbivores. The cyanogenic defences of Passiflora plants keeps most herbivores at bay, but not larvae of Heliconius butterflies, which can both sequester and biosynthesize cyanogenic compounds. Here, we demonstrate that both Heliconius cydno chioneus, a host plant generalist, and H. melpomene rosina, a specialist, have remarkable plasticity in their chemical defence. When feeding on Passiflora species with cyanogenic compounds they can readily sequester, both species downregulate the biosynthesis of these compounds. In contrast, when fed on Passiflora plants that do not contain cyanogenic glucosides that can be sequestered, both species increase biosynthesis. This biochemical plasticity comes at a significant fitness cost for specialist like H. m. rosina, as growth rates for this species negatively correlate with biosynthesis levels, but not for a generalist like H. c. chioneus. In exchange, H. m rosina has increased performance when sequestration is possible as on its specialised hostplant. In summary, phenotypic plasticity in biochemical responses to different host plants offers these butterflies the ability to widen their range of potential host within the Passiflora genus, while maintaining their chemical defences.

scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity in chemical defence of butterflies allows usage of diverse host plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Érika C. P. de Castro ◽  
Jamie Musgrove ◽  
Søren Bak ◽  
W. Owen McMillan ◽  
Chris D. Jiggins
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Chemical Defence ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Cyanogenic Glucosides ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Host Plant Specialization ◽  
Heliconius Cydno

Host plant specialization is a major force driving ecological niche partitioning and diversification in insect herbivores. The cyanogenic defences of Passiflora plants keep most herbivores at bay, but not the larvae of Heliconiu s butterflies, which can both sequester and biosynthesize cyanogenic compounds. Here, we demonstrate that both Heliconius cydno chioneus and H. melpomene rosina have remarkable plasticity in their chemical defences. When feeding on Passiflora species with cyanogenic compounds that they can readily sequester, both species downregulate the biosynthesis of these compounds. By contrast, when fed on Passiflora plants that do not contain cyanogenic glucosides that can be sequestered, both species increase biosynthesis. This biochemical plasticity comes at a fitness cost for the more specialist H. m. rosina , as adult size and weight for this species negatively correlate with biosynthesis levels, but not for the more generalist H. c. chioneus . By contrast, H. m rosina has increased performance when sequestration is possible on its specialized host plant. In summary, phenotypic plasticity in biochemical responses to different host plants offers these butterflies the ability to widen their range of potential hosts within the Passiflora genus, while maintaining their chemical defences.

scholarly journals Assessing the Role of Developmental and Environmental Factors in Chemical Defence Variation in Heliconiini Butterflies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ombeline Sculfort ◽  
Melanie McClure ◽  
Bastien Nay ◽  
Marianne Elias ◽  
Violaine Llaurens
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Chemical Defence ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Larval Host ◽  
In Captivity

AbstractChemical defences in animals are both incredibly widespread and highly diverse. Yet despite the important role they play in mediating interactions between predators and prey, extensive differences in the amounts and types of chemical compounds can exist between individuals, even within species and populations. Here we investigate the potential role of environment and development on the chemical defences of warningly coloured butterfly species from the tribe Heliconiini, which can both synthesize and sequester cyanogenic glycosides (CGs). We reared 5 Heliconiini species in captivity, each on a single species-specific host plant as larvae, and compared them to individuals collected in the wild to ascertain whether the variation in CG content observed in the field might be the result of differences in host plant availability. Three of these species were reared as larvae on the same host plant, Passiflora riparia, to further test how species, sex, and age affected the type and amount of different defensive CGs, and how they affected the ratio of synthesized to sequestered compounds. Then, focusing on the generalist species Heliconius numata, we specifically explored variation in chemical profiles as a result of the host plant consumed by caterpillars and their brood line, using rearing experiments carried out on two naturally co-occurring host plants with differing CG profiles. Our results show significant differences in both the amount of synthesized and sequestered compounds between butterflies reared in captivity and those collected in the field. We also found a significant effect of species and an effect of sex in some, but not all, species. We show that chemical defences in H. numata continue to increase throughout their life, likely because of continued biosynthesis, and we suggest that variation in the amount of synthesized CGs in this species does not appear to stem from larval host plants, although this warrants further study. Interestingly, we detected a significant effect of brood lines, consistent with heritability influencing CG concentrations in H. numata. Altogether, our results point to multiple factors resulting in chemical defence variation in Heliconiini butterflies and highlight the overlooked effect of synthesis capabilities, which may be genetically determined to some extent.

scholarly journals Variable Effects on Growth and Defence Traits for Plant Ecotypic Differentiation and Phenotypic Plasticity along Elevation Gradients

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moe Bakhtiari ◽  
Ludovico Formenti ◽  
Veronica Caggía ◽  
Gaëtan Glauser ◽  
Sergio Rasmann
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Growth Traits ◽  
Chemical Defence ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Ecotypic Differentiation ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Indole Glucosinolates ◽  
Common Gardens ◽  
Cardamine Pratensis ◽  
Differential Contribution

AbstractAlong ecological gradients, ecotypes generally evolve as the result of local adaptation to a specific environment to maximize organisms’ fitness. Alongside ecotypic differentiation, phenotypic plasticity, as the ability of a single genotype to produce different phenotypes under different environmental conditions, can also evolve for favouring increased organisms’ performance in different environments. Currently, there is a lack in our understanding of how varying habitats may contribute to the differential contribution of ecotypic differentiation and plasticity in growth versus defence traits. Using reciprocal transplant-common gardens along steep elevation gradients, we evaluated patterns of ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity of two coexisting but unrelated plant species, Cardamine pratensis and Plantago major. For both species, we observed ecotypic differentiation accompanied by plasticity in growth related traits. Plants grew faster and produced more biomass when placed at low elevation. In contrast, we observed fixed ecotypic differentiation for defence and resistance traits. Generally, low elevation ecotypes produced higher chemical defences regardless of the growing elevation. Yet, some plasticity was observed for specific compounds, such as indole glucosinolates. We speculate that ecotypic differentiation in defence traits is maintained by costs of chemical defence production, while plasticity in growth traits is regulated by temperature driven growth response maximization.

Phoretic specialization on insect herbivores facilitates mite transportation to host plants

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Bizzarri ◽  
Erin K. Kuprewicz ◽  
Megana Varma ◽  
Carlos García‐Robledo
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Insect Herbivores

scholarly journals Florivory defence: are phenolic compounds distributed non-randomly within perianths?

2020 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-25
Author(s):  
Saya Nakano ◽  
Michio Oguro ◽  
Tomoyuki Itagaki ◽  
Satoki Sakai
Keyword(s):  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Condensed Tannins ◽  
Total Phenolics ◽  
Chemical Defence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Herbivore Attack ◽  
Statistical Support ◽  
Angiosperm Species ◽  
Optimal Defence

Abstract Plants might allocate chemical defences unequally within attractive units of flowers including petals, sepals, and bracts because of variations in the probability of florivory. Based on optimal defence theory, which predicts that plants allocate higher chemical defences to tissues with higher probabilities of herbivore attack, we predicted that distal parts and sepals would have higher chemical defence allocations than proximal parts and petals. To test this prediction, we compared total phenolics and condensed tannins concentrations as well as presence of florivory within attractive units of ten angiosperm species. In agreement with the prediction, the overall results showed that the distal parts had higher total phenolics and condensed tannins than the proximal parts. On the other hand, contrary to the prediction, petals and sepals showed no tissue-specific variations. Florivory was more severe on the distal parts than the proximal parts, although statistical support for the variation was slightly weak, while the variations in presence of florivory between petals and sepals differed between the distal and proximal parts. These results may support the prediction of the optimal defence theory because distal parts of attractive units had higher presence of florivory and concentration of chemical defences.

Interaction between bracken and its insect herbivores

1985 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 125-131
Author(s):  
J. H. Lawton ◽  
M. MacGarvin
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Natural Enemies ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
The World ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Typical Site

SynopsisBracken in Britain is a host for 27 species of insect herbivores, with a further 11 species that either feed below ground (and are poorly studied), or appear to be only rarely associated with the plant. A typical site in northern England has an average of 15–16 of these species in any one year. Compared with perennial herbaceous angiosperms with similar wide distributions, bracken is not noticeably depauperate in the number of insect species that feed upon it. Bracken in others parts of the world is attacked by a wide variety of insects, with more species present in the geographical areas where bracken is most common.The ‘feeding niches’ of some of these insects are reviewed. Most are very rare relative to the biomass of their host plants, probably because of the impact of natural enemies; the effect of most of the insects upon their host-plant is consequently negligible.Reverse effects, of host-plant upon the insects, are subtle but poorly understood. Experiments to elucidate these effects are briefly outlined.

How do insect herbivores cope with the extreme oxidative stress of phototoxic host plants?

1995 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Aucoin ◽  
Gabriel Guillet ◽  
Christine Murray ◽  
Bernard J. R. Philogène ◽  
J. Thor Arnason
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Insect Herbivores

scholarly journals How to fight multiple enemies: target-specific chemical defences in an aposematic moth

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1863) ◽  
pp. 20171424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bibiana Rojas ◽  
Emily Burdfield-Steel ◽  
Hannu Pakkanen ◽  
Kaisa Suisto ◽  
Michael Maczka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Defence ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Defensive Strategies ◽  
Tiger Moth ◽  
Aversive Response ◽  
Show Evidence

Animals have evolved different defensive strategies to survive predation, among which chemical defences are particularly widespread and diverse. Here we investigate the function of chemical defence diversity, hypothesizing that such diversity has evolved as a response to multiple enemies. The aposematic wood tiger moth ( Arctia plantaginis ) displays conspicuous hindwing coloration and secretes distinct defensive fluids from its thoracic glands and abdomen. We presented the two defensive fluids from laboratory-reared moths to two biologically relevant predators, birds and ants, and measured their reaction in controlled bioassays (no information on colour was provided). We found that defensive fluids are target-specific: thoracic fluids, and particularly 2- sec -butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which they contain, deterred birds, but caused no aversive response in ants. By contrast, abdominal fluids were particularly deterrent to ants, while birds did not find them repellent. Our study, to our knowledge, is the first to show evidence of a single species producing separate chemical defences targeted to different predator types, highlighting the importance of taking into account complex predator communities in studies on the evolution of prey defence diversity.

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