Tinti J M, Nofre C
Faculty of Medicine of Lyon Laennec, University of Lyon 1, France.
Chem Senses. 2001 Mar;26(3):231-7. doi: 10.1093/chemse/26.3.231.
A behavioural study on the ant Lasius niger was performed by observing its feeding responses to 85 compounds presented in a two-choice situation (tested compound versus water control or sucrose solution). Among these compounds, only 21 were phagostimulating: six monosaccharides (D-glucose, 6-deoxy-D-glucose, L-galactose, L-fucose, D-fructose, L-sorbose), four derivatives of D-glucose (methyl alpha-D-glucoside, D-gluconolactone and 6-chloro- and 6-fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose), five disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, palatinose, turanose and isomaltose), one polyol glycoside (maltitol), three trisaccharides (melezitose, raffinose and maltotriose) and two polyols (sorbitol and L-iditol). None of the 16 non-carbohydrate non-polyol compounds tested, although perceived as sweet in humans, was found to be active in ants. The molar order of effectiveness of the major naturally occuring compounds (melezitose > sucrose = raffinose > D-glucose > D-fructose = maltose = sorbitol) is basically different from the molar order of their sweetness potency in humans (sucrose > D-fructose > melezitose > maltose > D-glucose = raffinose = sorbitol). On a molar basis melezitose is in L. niger about twice as effective as sucrose or raffinose, while D-glucose and D-fructose are three and four times less effective, respectively, than sucrose or raffinose. From a structure-activity relationship study it was inferred that the active monosaccharides and polyols should interact with the ant receptor through only one type of receptor, through the same binding pocket and the same binding residues, via a six-point interaction. The high effectiveness of melezitose in L. niger mirrors the feeding habits of these ants, which attend homopterans and are heavy feeders on their honeydew, which is very rich in this carbohydrate.
通过观察黑褐蚁对在二选一情境中呈现的85种化合物（受试化合物与水对照或蔗糖溶液）的取食反应，开展了一项关于黑褐蚁的行为学研究。在这些化合物中，只有21种具有促食作用：六种单糖（D-葡萄糖、6-脱氧-D-葡萄糖、L-半乳糖、L-岩藻糖、D-果糖、L-山梨糖）、四种D-葡萄糖衍生物（α-D-甲基葡萄糖苷、D-葡萄糖酸内酯以及6-氯-和6-氟-脱氧-D-葡萄糖）、五种二糖（蔗糖、麦芽糖、帕拉金糖、松二糖和异麦芽糖）、一种多元醇糖苷（麦芽糖醇）、三种三糖（松三糖、棉子糖和麦芽三糖）以及两种多元醇（山梨醇和L-艾杜醇）。所测试的16种非碳水化合物非多元醇化合物，尽管人类认为它们是甜的，但在蚂蚁中均未发现有活性。主要天然存在的化合物的有效摩尔顺序（松三糖＞蔗糖 = 棉子糖＞D-葡萄糖＞D-果糖 = 麦芽糖 = 山梨醇）与它们在人类中的甜度效力摩尔顺序（蔗糖＞D-果糖＞松三糖＞麦芽糖＞D-葡萄糖 = 棉子糖 = 山梨醇）基本不同。以摩尔为基础，松三糖在黑褐蚁中的效力约为蔗糖或棉子糖的两倍，而D-葡萄糖和D-果糖的效力分别比蔗糖或棉子糖低三倍和四倍。从构效关系研究推断，有活性的单糖和多元醇应仅通过一种类型的受体、通过相同的结合口袋和相同的结合残基，经由六点相互作用与蚂蚁受体相互作用。松三糖在黑褐蚁中的高效反映了这些蚂蚁的取食习性，它们照料同翅目昆虫，并大量取食富含这种碳水化合物的蜜露。
