Do Defensive Compounds Affect the Success of Invasion of the Argentine Ant?

One of the main traits of invasive ants is the formation of supercolonies, large networks of polygynous nests lacking intraspecific competition, which allows them to reach high densities that facilitate their spread. However, different supercolonies exhibit different success in expanding along the world. Here, we explore whether the main chemical defensive compound of the Argentine ant could play a role in the differential invasiveness of supercolonies. We assessed differences in the amount of iridomyrmecin among supercolonies in the native range and in three invasive supercolonies: the Main supercolony (the most extended worldwide), and the Corsican and the Catalonian supercolonies (both with a restricted local distribution in Europe). We found that even if the amount of iridomyrmecin varied greatly between invaded regions in the three supercolonies in Europe and the native supercolonies in South America, the differences did not seem related to the success of invasion. The amount of iridomyrmecin of the Main supercolony was the lowest while the highest corresponded to the Corsican supercolony, with the Catalonian having intermediate values. This suggests that the success of a given invasive supercolony may not be explained by higher quantities of this defensive compound. Alternatively, reducing iridomyrmecin quantities in the invasive range could lead to more investment in other fitness traits that increase the invader's competitive ability. Our results open the way for exploring the contribution of defensive compounds in the competitive ability and spread of this global invader.

Defensive Traits during White Spruce (Picea glauca) Leaf Ontogeny

Changes during leaf ontogeny affect palatability to herbivores, such that many insects, including the eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)), are specialist feeders on growing conifer leaves and buds. Developmental constraints imply lower toughness in developing foliage, and optimal defense theory predicts higher investment in chemical defense in these vulnerable yet valuable developing leaves. We summarize the literature on the time course of defensive compounds in developing white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) needles and report original research findings on the ontogeny of white spruce needle toughness. Our results show the predicted pattern of buds decreasing in toughness followed by leaves increasing in toughness during expansion, accompanied by opposite trends in water content. Toughness of mature foliage decreased slightly during the growing season, with no significant relationship with water content. Toughness of sun-grown leaves was slightly higher than that of shade-grown leaves. However, the literature review did not support the expected pattern of higher defensive compounds in expanding leaves than in mature leaves, suggesting that white spruce might instead exhibit a fast-growth low-defense strategy.

Persistence of the ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) microbiome to diet manipulation

Host-associated microbiomes can play important roles in the ecology and evolution of their insect hosts, but bacterial diversity in many insect groups remains poorly understood. Here we examine the relationship between host environment, host traits, and microbial diversity in three species in the ground beetle family (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a group of roughly 40,000 species that synthesize a wide diversity of defensive compounds. This study used 16S amplicon sequencing to profile three species that are phylogenetically distantly related, trophically distinct, and whose defensive chemical secretions differ: Anisodactylus similis LeConte, 1851, Pterostichus serripes (LeConte, 1875), and Brachinus elongatulus Chaudoir, 1876. Wild-caught beetles were compared to individuals maintained in the lab for two weeks on carnivorous, herbivorous, or starvation diets (n = 3 beetles for each species-diet combination). Metagenomic samples from two highly active tissue types—guts, and pygidial gland secretory cells (which produce defensive compounds)—were processed and sequenced separately from those of the remaining body. Bacterial composition and diversity of these ground beetles were largely resilient to controlled changes to host diet. Different tissues within the same beetle harbor unique microbial communities, and secretory cells in particular were remarkably similar across species. We also found that these three carabid species have patterns of microbial diversity similar to those previously found in carabid beetles. These results provide a baseline for future studies of the role of microbes in the diversification of carabids.

Decomposition of Herbivore-Damaged Leaves of Understory Species Growing in Oak and Pine Stands

Leaves are the largest component of forest litter. Their decomposition rate depends mainly on plant species, leaf chemical composition, microorganism biodiversity, and habitat conditions. It is known that herbivory by insects can modify the chemical composition of leaves, such as through induction. The aim of this study was to determine whether the rate of leaf decomposition is related to the susceptibility of the plant species to insect feeding and how leaf damage affects this rate. For our research, we chose six species differing in leaf resistance to insect damage: Cornus sanguinea, Frangula alnus, and Sambucus nigra (herbivore resistant), and Corylus avellana, P. padus, and Prunus serotina (herbivore susceptible). The decomposition of these plant leaves was examined in two monoculture forest stands, deciduous (Quercus robur) and coniferous (Pinus sylvestris). Litter decay rate k and change of litter mass, content of defensive metabolites (total phenols (TPh) and condensed tannins), and substances beneficial for organisms decomposing litter (nitrogen (N) and nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC)) were determined. Contrary to our expectations, leaf litter of herbivore-resistant species decomposed faster than that of herbivore-susceptible species, and damaged leaves decayed faster than undamaged leaves. We found that faster decaying leaf litter had a lower content of defensive compounds and a higher content of TNC and N, regardless of the plant species or leaf damage. Leaf litter decomposition caused a large and rapid decrease in the content of defensive compounds and TNC, and an increase in N. In all species, the tannin content was lower in damaged than in undamaged leaves. This pattern was also observed for TPh, except in S. nigra. We interpret this as the main reason for faster decay of damaged leaves. Moreover, the loss of leaf mass was greater under oak than pine stands, indicating that the microorganisms in deciduous stands are more effective at decomposing litter, regardless of leaf damage.

Strong selective pressure by parasitoids mitigates the costs of consuming chemically defended plants

Co-evolutionary interactions between plants and herbivores have led to a range of plant defenses that minimize insect damage and a suite of counter-adaptations that allow herbivores to feed on defended plants. Consumption of plant secondary compounds results in herbivore growth and developmental costs but can be beneficial if eating these secondary compounds results in deterrence or harm to natural enemies.To test the role of secondary compounds on herbivore fitness in the context of natural enemies, I combined field measurements of the prevalence of a parasitoid wasp (Cotesia congregata) with detailed measurements of the costs of plant secondary compounds on growth, immune, and fitness traits across developmental stages in the herbivore Manduca sexta. When M. sexta larvae consume defended plants, Cotesia congregata are known to have reduced success. However, this anti-enemy benefit to the M. sexta host must be considered in relationship to parasitoid abundance and the type and strength of the fitness costs M. sexta incurs feeding on plant secondary compounds.I found that Cotesia congregata parasitoids exert large negative selective pressures, killing 31-57% of M. sexta larvae in the field. Manduca sexta developed fastest during the instars most at risk for parasitoid oviposition but growth was slowed by consumption of plant secondary compounds (nicotine and rutin). These negative size effects at the larval stage carried over to influence adult traits associated with flight and mating but there were no immune, survival, or fecundity costs of consuming plant defensive compounds as larvae.Synthesis. These results suggest that the developmental costs experienced by M. sexta herbivores consuming defensive compounds may be outweighed by a survival benefit in the face of abundant enemy pressures.

Effect of Bacillus bacteria on activity of pathogen-induced proteins in potato plants and increasing their resistance to Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary

We studied the effect of the Bacillus bacteria on the content and activity of defensive compounds in potato plants upon infection with late blight pathogen. Bacterial treatment had a stimulating effect on the concentration of H2O2 and transcriptional activity of hydrolase inhibitor genes.

Persistence of the ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) microbiome to diet manipulation

ABSTRACTHost-associated microbiomes can play important roles in the ecology and evolution of their insect hosts, but bacterial diversity in many insect groups remains poorly understood. Here we examine the relationship between host environment, host traits, and microbial diversity in three species in the ground beetle family (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a group of roughly 40,000 species that synthesize a wide diversity of defensive compounds. This study found that the ground beetle microbiome is consistent across different host food sources. We used 16S amplicon sequencing to profile three species that are phylogenetically distantly related, trophically distinct, and whose defensive chemical secretions differ: Anisodactylus similis LeConte, 1851, Pterostichus serripes (LeConte, 1875), and Brachinus elongatulus Chaudoir, 1876. Wild-caught beetles were compared to individuals maintained in the lab for two weeks on carnivorous, herbivorous, or starvation diets. Soil environment but not diet had a significant effect on bacterial diversity and composition. The three carabid species have patterns of microbial diversity similar to those previously found in other insect hosts. Metagenomic samples from two highly active tissue types — guts, and pygidial gland secretory cells (which produce defensive compounds) — were processed and sequenced separately from those of the remaining body. The observed similarity of the pygidial gland secretory cell microbiome across hosts suggests the possibility that it may be a conserved community, possibly due to functional interactions related to defensive chemistry. These results provide a baseline for future studies of the role of microbes in the diversification of defensive chemical biosynthesis in carabids.

Ecology and Evolution of Insect–Fungus Mutualisms

The evolution of a mutualism requires reciprocal interactions whereby one species provides a service that the other species cannot perform or performs less efficiently. Services exchanged in insect–fungus mutualisms include nutrition, protection, and dispersal. In ectosymbioses, which are the focus of this review, fungi can be consumed by insects or can degrade plant polymers or defensive compounds, thereby making a substrate available to insects. They can also protect against environmental factors and produce compounds antagonistic to microbial competitors. Insects disperse fungi and can also provide fungal growth substrates and protection. Insect–fungus mutualisms can transition from facultative to obligate, whereby each partner is no longer viable on its own. Obligate dependency has ( a) resulted in the evolution of morphological adaptations in insects and fungi, ( b) driven the evolution of social behaviors in some groups of insects, and ( c) led to the loss of sexuality in some fungal mutualists.