Insects had it first: surfactants as a defence against predators
Zitieren Sie bitte immer diese URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-35031
- 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, weInsects 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.…
Autor(en): | Michael Rostás, Katrin Blassmann |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-35031 |
Dokumentart: | Artikel / Aufsatz in einer Zeitschrift |
Institute der Universität: | Fakultät für Biologie / Julius-von-Sachs-Institut für Biowissenschaften |
Sprache der Veröffentlichung: | Englisch |
Erscheinungsjahr: | 2009 |
Originalveröffentlichung / Quelle: | In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 276, 633-638. - DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.1281 |
Allgemeine fachliche Zuordnung (DDC-Klassifikation): | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 590 Tiere (Zoologie) |
Normierte Schlagworte (GND): | Pflanzenfressende Insekten; Grenzflächenaktiver Stoff; Ameisen; Zuckerrübeneule |
Freie Schlagwort(e): | Abwehr; Oralsekret anti-predator defence; biosurfactants; caterpillars; regurgitation; secondary metabolites |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 05.03.2010 |
Beteiligte Körperschaft: | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB 567 TP B9 |