Title: | Ozone exposure disrupts insect sexual communication |
Author(s): | Jiang NJ; Chang H; Weissflog J; Eberl F; Veit D; Weniger K; Hansson BS; Knaden M; |
Address: | "Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll-Strasse 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany. Next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology, Max Planck Centre, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll-Strasse 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany. Mass Spectrometry/Proteomics Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll-Strasse 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany. Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll Strasse 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany. Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll-Strasse 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany. mknaden@ice.mpg.de. Next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology, Max Planck Centre, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll-Strasse 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany. mknaden@ice.mpg.de" |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-023-36534-9 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 2041-1723 (Electronic) 2041-1723 (Linking) |
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" |
Keywords: | "Animals Male Female *Drosophila melanogaster/metabolism Sexual Behavior, Animal Pheromones/metabolism *Sex Attractants Courtship;" |
Notes: | "MedlineJiang, Nan-Ji Chang, Hetan Weissflog, Jerrit Eberl, Franziska Veit, Daniel Weniger, Kerstin Hansson, Bill S Knaden, Markus eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2023/03/16 Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 14; 14(1):1186. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36534-9" |