« Previous Abstract"Tomato PEPR1 ORTHOLOG RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE1 Regulates Responses to Systemin, Necrotrophic Fungi, and Insect Herbivory"    Next Abstract"Revisiting the trail pheromone components of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren" »

Curr Biol

Title:		A trail pheromone mediates the mutualism between ants and aphids
Author(s):		Xu T; Xu M; Lu Y; Zhang W; Sun J; Zeng R; Turlings TCJ; Chen L;
Address:		"College of Life Science, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, P.R. China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China. College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, P.R. China. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China. Electronic address: sunjh@ioz.ac.cn. College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, P.R. China. Electronic address: rszeng@fafu.edu.cn. Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology (FARCE), University of Neuchatel, 2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland. Electronic address: ted.turlings@unine.ch. College of Life Science, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, P.R. China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China; Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology (FARCE), University of Neuchatel, 2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland. Electronic address: chenli1@hbu.edu.cn"
Journal Title:		Curr Biol
Year:		2021
Volume:		20210907
Issue:		21
Page Number:		4738 - 4747
DOI:		10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.032
ISSN/ISBN:		1879-0445 (Electronic) 0960-9822 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Mutualisms, such as the ones between ants and aphids, evolve and persist when benefits outweigh the costs from the interactions between the partners. We show here that the trail pheromone of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, can enhance these benefits by suppressing aphid dispersal and stimulating their reproduction. The ant's mutualistic partner, the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii, was found to readily perceive and respond to two specific trail pheromone components. Two pheromone components, Z,E-alpha-farnesene and E,E-alpha-farnesene, both suppressed walking dispersal of apterous aphids, whereas only the major pheromone component, Z,E-alpha-farnesene, also increased aphid reproduction rate. The ants, as well as the aphids, benefit from this inter-species function of the trail pheromone. For the ants it increases and prolongs the availability of honeydew as a key food source, whereas the aphid colony benefits from faster population growth and continuous ant-provided protection. These findings reveal a hitherto unknown mechanism by which ants and aphids both increase the benefits that they provide to each other, thereby likely enhancing the stability of their mutualistic relationship"
Keywords:		Animals *Ants *Aphids Pheromones Reproduction Symbiosis Aphis gossypii Solenopsis invicta ant-aphid mutualism aphid dispersal aphid reproduction chemical communication mutualism stability;
Notes:		"MedlineXu, Tian Xu, Meng Lu, Yongyue Zhang, Wenqian Sun, Jianghua Zeng, Rensen Turlings, Ted C J Chen, Li eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2021/09/09 Curr Biol. 2021 Nov 8; 31(21):4738-4747.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.032. Epub 2021 Sep 7"