Austel Nadine, Reinecke Andreas, Björkman Christer, Hilker Monika, Meiners Torsten
Freie Universitaet Berlin, Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, Institute of Biology, Haderslebener Straße 9, 12163 Berlin, Germany.
Department of Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Straße 8, 07745 Jena, Germany, Present address: Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 4, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany.
Chem Senses. 2015 Feb;40(2):109-24. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bju065. Epub 2014 Dec 23.
Aggregation behavior of herbivorous insects is mediated by a wide range of biotic and abiotic factors. It has been suggested that aggregation behavior of the blue willow leaf beetle Phratora vulgatissima is mediated by both host plant odor and by odor released by the beetles. Previous studies show that the beetles respond to plant odors according to their prior host plant experiences. Here, we analyzed the effect of the host plant species on odor released and perceived by adult P. vulgatissima. The major difference between the odor of beetles feeding on salicin-rich and salicin-poor host plants was the presence of salicylaldehyde in the odor of the former, where both males and females released this compound. Electrophysiological studies showed that the intensity of responses to single components of odor released by beetles was sex specific and dependent on the host plant species with which the beetles were fed. Finally, behavioral studies revealed that males feeding on salicin-rich willows were attracted by salicylaldehyde, whereas females did not respond behaviorally to this compound, despite showing clear antennal responses to it. Finally, the ecological relevance of the influence of a host plant species on the plasticity of beetle odor chemistry, perception, and behavior is discussed.
植食性昆虫的聚集行为受到多种生物和非生物因素的介导。有人提出，蓝柳树甲虫（Phratora vulgatissima）的聚集行为是由寄主植物气味和甲虫释放的气味共同介导的。先前的研究表明，甲虫会根据其先前的寄主植物经历对植物气味做出反应。在此，我们分析了寄主植物种类对成年蓝柳树甲虫释放和感知的气味的影响。取食富含水杨苷和水杨苷含量低的寄主植物的甲虫所释放气味的主要差异在于，前者的气味中存在水杨醛，雄性和雌性甲虫都会释放这种化合物。电生理研究表明，甲虫释放的气味单一成分的反应强度具有性别特异性，且取决于甲虫取食的寄主植物种类。最后，行为研究表明，取食富含水杨苷柳树的雄性甲虫会被水杨醛吸引，而雌性甲虫尽管对该化合物有明显的触角反应，但在行为上并未对其做出反应。最后，讨论了寄主植物种类对甲虫气味化学、感知和行为可塑性影响的生态相关性。
