Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Commun Biol. 2022 Oct 30;5(1):1156. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-04072-7.
Female web-building spiders disseminate pheromone from their webs that attracts mate-seeking males and deposit contact pheromone on their webs that induces courtship by males upon arrival. The source of contact and mate attractant pheromone components, and the potential ability of females to adjust their web's attractiveness, have remained elusive. Here, we report three new contact pheromone components produced by female false black widow spiders, Steatoda grossa: N-4-methylvaleroyl-O-butyroyl-L-serine, N-4-methylvaleroyl-O-isobutyroyl-L-serine and N-4-methylvaleroyl-O-hexanoyl-L-serine. The compounds originate from the posterior aggregate silk gland, induce courtship by males, and web pH-dependently hydrolyse at the carboxylic-ester bond, giving rise to three corresponding carboxylic acids that attract males. A carboxyl ester hydrolase (CEH) is present on webs and likely mediates the functional transition of contact sex pheromone components to the carboxylic acid mate attractant pheromone components. As CEH activity is pH-dependent, and female spiders can manipulate their silk's pH, they might also actively adjust their webs' attractiveness.
雌性织网蜘蛛会从它们的蛛网中释放出信息素，吸引求偶的雄性，并且会在网面上沉积接触信息素，当雄性到达时会诱导它们求偶。接触和交配吸引信息素成分的来源，以及雌性调整其蛛网吸引力的潜在能力，一直难以捉摸。在这里，我们报告了三种由雌性伪黑寡妇蜘蛛 Steatoda grossa 产生的新的接触信息素成分：N-4-甲基戊酰基-O-丁酰基-L-丝氨酸、N-4-甲基戊酰基-O-异丁酰基-L-丝氨酸和 N-4-甲基戊酰基-O-己酰基-L-丝氨酸。这些化合物来源于后聚合丝腺，可诱导雄性求偶，并且在网面 pH 条件下，通过羧酸酯键水解，生成三种相应的羧酸，吸引雄性。网面上存在羧酸酯酶（CEH），可能介导接触性性信息素成分向羧酸交配吸引信息素成分的功能转变。由于 CEH 活性依赖于 pH，并且雌性蜘蛛可以操纵其丝的 pH，它们也可能主动调整其蛛网的吸引力。
