Direkt zum Inhalt

Owner only: item control page
Kurtanovic, Alisa ; Hofferberth, John ; Ruther, Joachim

Male sex pheromone in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia longicornis: Chemical and behavioral analyses

Kurtanovic, Alisa, Hofferberth, John and Ruther, Joachim (2022) Male sex pheromone in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia longicornis: Chemical and behavioral analyses. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10, p. 1076398.

Date of publication of this fulltext: 20 Dec 2022 15:28
Article
DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.53455


Abstract

The use of sex pheromones for the attraction of potential mating partners is widespread in insects. Species-specificity of these chemical signals is essential, particularly in closely related species with overlapping habitats. In parasitoid wasps of the genus Nasonia, it is the males that produce sex pheromones in their rectal vesicles. The genus consists of four species: N. vitripennis (Nv), N. ...

The use of sex pheromones for the attraction of potential mating partners is widespread in insects. Species-specificity of these chemical signals is essential, particularly in closely related species with overlapping habitats. In parasitoid wasps of the genus Nasonia, it is the males that produce sex pheromones in their rectal vesicles. The genus consists of four species: N. vitripennis (Nv), N. giraulti (Ng), N. oneida (No), and N. longicornis (Nl). The cosmopolitan species Nv is sympatric with Ng and No in eastern North America and with Nl in the west. Interspecific courtship is common in Nasonia although hybridization is prevented in most combinations by Wolbachia-mediated cytoplasmic incompatibility. The pheromone of Nv males differs from all Nasonia congeners by an additional component that is believed to ensure precopulatory isolation from the sympatric congeners. Detailed investigations on these interactions, however, exist only for the species combination Nv/Ng. Here, we report the results of chemical and behavioral investigations on the sex pheromone of Nl males. The pheromone consists of (4R,5S)-5-hydroxy-4-decanolide (RS) and 4-methylquinazoline (MQ) as a minor component which are produced only after eclosion. Pheromone titers peaked 2 days after eclosion and remained constant on day three. The pheromone is deposited by abdomen dipping which males increasingly exhibited after mating or brief contact with a female. The presence of hosts containing females about to emerge did not increase marking behavior. Site fidelity of males at their own pheromone markings is mediated by MQ. Both natural and synthetic pheromone attracted virgin but not mated females and both RS and MQ are required for female attraction. Females collected during emergence from the host responded likewise to the pheromone and 84% of them produced mixed-sex offspring showing that most of them emerge unmated. Nl females preferred pheromone extract from conspecific males to extract from Nv males, and the addition of the Nv-specific component (4R,5R)-5-hydroxy-4-decanolide (RR) to the Nl pheromone made them unresponsive. The present study demonstrates that Nl uses the male sex pheromone in a similar way as previously shown for Nv and Ng. Furthermore, it shows that Nl females use the Nv-specific pheromone component RR to avoid costly sexual interactions with Nv males in regions of sympatry.



Involved Institutions


Details

Item typeArticle
Journal or Publication TitleFrontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Publisher:Frontiers
Open Access Type:Gold (with APC)
Place of Publication:LAUSANNE
Volume:10
Page Range:p. 1076398
Date2 December 2022
InstitutionsBiology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Chemische Ökologie (Prof. Dr. Joachim Ruther)
Identification Number
ValueType
10.3389/fevo.2022.1076398DOI
KeywordsMATING-BEHAVIOR; VITRIPENNIS; PTEROMALIDAE; HYMENOPTERA; FEMALES; STRATEGIES; EVOLUTION; RATIO; mate finding; parasitic wasp; precopulatory isolation; sex attractant; species-specificity; (4R; 5S)-5-hydroxydecanolide; 5R)-5-hydroxydecanolide; 4-methylquinazoline
Dewey Decimal Classification500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences
StatusPublished
RefereedYes, this version has been refereed
Created at the University of RegensburgYes
URN of the UB Regensburgurn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-534550
Item ID53455

Export bibliographical data

Owner only: item control page

nach oben