TY - JOUR A1 - Rostás, Michael A1 - Blassmann, Katrin T1 - Insects had it first: surfactants as a defence against predators N2 - Insects have evolved an astonishing array of defences to ward off enemies. Well-known and widespread is the regurgitation of oral secretions (OS), fluids that repel attacking predators. In herbivores, the effectiveness of OS has been ascribed so far to the presence of deterrent secondary metabolites sequestered from the host plant. This notion implies, however, that generalists experience less protection on plants with low amounts of secondary metabolites or with compounds ineffective against potential enemies. Resolving the dilemma, we describe a novel defence mechanism that is independent of deterrents as it relies on the OS’ intrinsic detergent properties. The OS of Spodoptera exigua (and other species) was found to be highly amphiphilic and well capable of wetting the hydrophobic cuticle of predatory ants. As a result, affected ants stopped attacking and engaged in extensive cleansing. The presence of surfactants was sufficient to explain the defensive character of herbivore OS. We hypothesize that detergency is a common but unrecognised mode of defence which provides a base level of protection that may or may not be further enhanced by plant-derived deterrents. Our study also proves that insects ‘invented’ the use of defensive surfactants long before modern agriculture had started applying them as insecticides. KW - Pflanzenfressende Insekten KW - Grenzflächenaktiver Stoff KW - Ameisen KW - Zuckerrübeneule KW - Abwehr KW - Oralsekret KW - anti-predator defence KW - caterpillars KW - regurgitation KW - secondary metabolites KW - biosurfactants Y1 - 2009 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-35031 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rostás, Michael T1 - The effects of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one on two species of Spodoptera and the growth of Setosphaeria turcica in vitro N2 - Maize seedlings contain high amounts of glucosidically bound 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA). The effects of DIMBOA on the feeding behaviour and performance of two noctuids, Spodoptera exigua Hübner and S. frugiperda Smith, were compared. The question was raised whether S. frugiperda, preferring maize and other Poaceae, is better adapted to DIMBOA than S. exigua. In addition, the effects of DIMBOA on the mycelial growth of the plant pathogen Setosphaeria turcica Leonard et Suggs (causal agent of northern corn leaf blight) was assessed in vitro. DIMBOA had an antifeedant effect on S. exigua but stimulated feeding in S. frugiperda in dual-choice experiments. In a no-choice setup, larvae of S. exigua gained less biomass and had a prolonged development when feeding on an artificial diet containing DIMBOA. However, pupal weight was not significantly different between treatments. In contrast, larvae of S. frugiperda were not affected by DIMBOA. Strong detrimental effects of DIMBOA were found on the mycelial growth of the pathogen S. turcica. KW - Eulen KW - Pilzbefall KW - Mais KW - DIMBOA KW - Abwehr KW - DIMBOA KW - Performance KW - Spodoptera KW - Fungus KW - Zea mays Y1 - 2007 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-35079 ER -