| Title: | A chemical defense deters cannibalism in migratory locusts |
| Author(s): | Chang H; Cassau S; Krieger J; Guo X; Knaden M; Kang L; Hansson BS; |
| Address: | "Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. Department of Animal Physiology, Martin-Luther-Universitat Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1095-9203 (Electronic) 0036-8075 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Many animals engage in cannibalism to supplement their diets. Among dense populations of migratory locusts, cannibalism is prevalent. We show that under crowded conditions, locusts produce an anticannibalistic pheromone called phenylacetonitrile. Both the degree of cannibalism and the production of phenylacetonitrile are density dependent and covary. We identified the olfactory receptor that detects phenylacetonitrile and used genome editing to make this receptor nonfunctional, thereby abolishing the negative behavioral response. We also inactivated the gene underlying phenylacetonitrile production and show that locusts that lack this compound lose its protection and are more frequently exposed to intraspecific predation. Thus, we reveal an anticannibalistic feature built on a specifically produced odor. The system is very likely to be of major importance in locust population ecology, and our results might therefore provide opportunities in locust management" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Acetonitriles/metabolism *Cannibalism *Grasshoppers/genetics/metabolism *Pheromones/genetics/metabolism *Crowding; |
| Notes: | "MedlineChang, Hetan Cassau, Sina Krieger, Jurgen Guo, Xiaojiao Knaden, Markus Kang, Le Hansson, Bill S eng 2023/05/04 Science. 2023 May 5; 380(6644):537-543. doi: 10.1126/science.ade6155. Epub 2023 May 4" |
