| Title: | Volatiles Emitted by Calling Males of Burying Beetles and Ptomascopus morio (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorinae) Are Biogenetically Related |
| Author(s): | Haberer W; Schmitt T; Schreier P; Eggert AK; Muller JK; |
| Address: | "Department of Animal Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. wolf.haberer@biologie.uni-freiburg.de. Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany. Department of Food Chemistry, University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany. School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA. Department of Animal Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-017-0892-2 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In burying beetles, Nicrophorus spp. (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorinae) mate finding is mediated by male produced volatile compounds. To date, pheromone components of only two species have been identified. In an attempt to better understand the evolution of male pheromone signaling in burying beetles, we investigated the male released volatiles of ten Nicrophorus species and one closely related nicrophorine species, Ptomascopus mori. Volatiles emitted by calling males were collected in the laboratory by means of solid phase micro extraction and analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Identified volatiles included short chain esters of 4-methylcarboxylic acids, terpenoids, and some other aliphatic compounds. The long-range volatile signals of the burying beetle species included in this study are blends of two to seven components. We found that methyl or ethyl esters of 4-methylheptanoic acid and 4-methyloctanoic acid are produced by eight of the ten investigated Nicrophorus species. These esters may play a key role in chemical communication. Their widespread occurrence suggests that these compounds did not evolve recently, but appeared relatively early in the phylogeny of the genus. Although Ptomascopus is considered the sister genus of Nicrophorus, P. morio males do not produce any of the Nicrophorus compounds, but release 3-methylalkan-2-ones, which are absent in Nicrophorus. A better understanding of the evolution of burying beetle pheromones, however, will only be possible once more species have been studied" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Caprylates/analysis/metabolism Coleoptera/chemistry/*physiology Esterification Female Male *Mating Preference, Animal Pheromones/analysis/*metabolism Terpenes/analysis/metabolism Vocalization, Animal Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis/*metabolism;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineHaberer, Wolf Schmitt, Thomas Schreier, Peter Eggert, Anne-Katrin Muller, Josef K eng 2017/10/17 J Chem Ecol. 2017 Oct; 43(10):971-977. doi: 10.1007/s10886-017-0892-2. Epub 2017 Oct 14" |
