Ozone exposure disrupts insect sexual communication.
Nat Commun
; 14(1): 1186, 2023 03 14.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36918554
ABSTRACT
Insect sexual communication often relies upon sex pheromones. Most insect pheromones, however, contain carbon-carbon double bonds and potentially degrade by oxidation. Here, we show that frequently reported increased levels of Anthropocenic ozone can oxidize all described male-specific pheromones of Drosophila melanogaster, resulting in reduced amounts of pheromones such as cis-Vaccenyl Acetate and (Z)-7-Tricosene. At the same time female acceptance of ozone-exposed males is significantly delayed. Interestingly, groups of ozone-exposed males also exhibit significantly increased levels of male-male courtship behaviour. When repeating similar experiments with nine other drosophilid species, we observe pheromone degradation and/or disrupted sex recognition in eight of them. Our data suggest that Anthropocenic levels of ozone can extensively oxidize double bonds in a variety of insect pheromones, thereby leading to deviations in sexual recognition.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atrativos Sexuais
/
Drosophila melanogaster
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article