TY  - JOUR
A1  - Rödel, Mark-Oliver
A1  - Brede, Christian
A1  - Hirschfeld, Mareike
A1  - Schmitt, Thomas
A1  - Favreau, Philippe
A1  - Stöcklin, Reto
A1  - Wunder, Cora
A1  - Mebs, Dietrich
T1  - Chemical Camouflage - A Frog's Strategy to Co-Exist with Aggressive Ants
JF  - PLOS ONE
N2  - Whereas interspecific associations receive considerable attention in evolutionary, behavioural and ecological literature, the proximate bases for these associations are usually unknown. This in particular applies to associations between vertebrates with invertebrates. The West-African savanna frog Phrynomantis microps lives in the underground nest of ponerine ants (Paltothyreus tarsatus). The ants usually react highly aggressively when disturbed by fiercely stinging, but the frog is not attacked and lives unharmed among the ants. Herein we examined the proximate mechanisms for this unusual association. Experiments with termites and mealworms covered with the skin secretion of the frog revealed that specific chemical compounds seem to prevent the ants from stinging. By HPLC-fractionation of an aqueous solution of the frogs' skin secretion, two peptides of 1,029 and 1,143 Da were isolated and found to inhibit the aggressive behaviour of the ants. By de novo sequencing using tandem mass spectrometry, the amino acid sequence of both peptides consisting of a chain of 9 and 11 residues, respectively, was elucidated. Both peptides were synthesized and tested, and exhibited the same inhibitory properties as the original frog secretions. These novel peptides most likely act as an appeasement allomone and may serve as models for taming insect aggression.
KW  - amphibian skin secretions
KW  - antimicrobial peptides
KW  - paltothyreus tarsatus
KW  - dendrobates pumilio
KW  - anurans
KW  - microhylidae
KW  - hymenoptera
KW  - formicidae
KW  - mutualisms
KW  - alkaloids
Y1  - 2013
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-128181
SN  - 1932-6203
VL  - 8
IS  - 12
ER  -