Impact of alkaloids in food consumption, metabolism and survival in a blood-sucking insect

Muñoz, Ignacio J.; Schilman, Pablo E.; Barrozo, Romina B.

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65932-y

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Plants produce a wide variety of secondary metabolic compounds such as alkaloids that mediate plant-animal interactions (Schoonhoven et al, 2005). These phytochemicals are found in nectar and in plant tissues at different concentrations and, although the dose-dependent role of some of them in attracting and rewarding pollinators has been demonstrated (Wright et al, 2013;Stevenson et al, 2017), they are generally regarded as defence mechanisms to reduce damage from non-adapted phytophagous animals, because they are bitter tasting and toxic (Szentesi and Wink, 1991;Adler, 2000;Thomson et al, 2015;Muñoz et al, 2020;Mustard, 2020). In the context of evolutionary arms race, the complex mechanisms of secondary metabolite production evolved by plant species to resist herbivory have, in return, made herbivores adapt a wide range of mitigation processes of their negative effects (Dearing et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cascading effects of caffeine intake by primary consumers to the upper trophic level

Tougeron

Hance

2021

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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Secondary metabolites are central to understanding the evolution of plant–animal interactions. Direct effects on phytophagous animals are well-known, but how secondary consumers adjust their behavioural and physiological responses to the herbivore's diet remains more scarcely explored for some metabolites. Caffeine is a neuroactive compound that affects both the behaviour and physiology of several animal species, from humans to insects. It is an alkaloid present in nectar, leaves and even sap of numerous species of plants where it plays a role in chemical defences against herbivores and pathogens. Caffeine effects have been overlooked in generalist herbivores that are not specialized in coffee or tea plants. Using a host–parasitoid system, we show that caffeine intake at a relatively low dose affects longevity and fecundity of the primary consumer, but also indirectly of the secondary one, suggesting that this alkaloid and/or its effects can be transmitted through trophic levels and persist in the food chain. Parasitism success was lowered by ≈16% on hosts fed with caffeine, and parasitoids of the next generation that have developed in hosts fed on caffeine showed a reduced longevity, but no differences in mass and size were found. This study helps at better understanding how plant secondary metabolites, such as caffeine involved in plant–animal interactions, could affect primary consumers, could have knock-on effects on upper trophic levels over generations, and could modify interspecific interactions in multitrophic systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cascading effects of caffeine intake by primary consumers to the upper trophic level

Tougeron

Hance

2021

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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“…The inhibition of AChE will cause acetylcholine accumulation at the synaptic pathway, disturbing the nerve impulse transmission (Rattan, 2010). Corresponding to this event, the insects exposed to alkaloids will finally have a lack of coordination in their body systems (Hussein et al, 2018), including physiological stress (Muñoz, 2020) and eventually death, as observed in the recent study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

The determination of effective concentration of acethonilic Ipomoea cairica leaves extract against laboratory and field strains of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae

Rodzay

Zuharah

2021

Trop Biomed

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Inundated with escalating dengue outbreaks, there is an urgent call to find alternate potential vector control methods as the currently employed method fails to curb the expanding of dengue virus transmission in Malaysia. Supported by this aim, we are interested in exploiting the potential of Ipomoea cairica leaves extract towards primary and secondary vectors of dengue fever, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. To assess the effectiveness of this plant extracts towards Aedes larvae, we carried out two complementary analyses. First, we observed the comparative effectiveness of larvicidal activity I. cairica extract against the laboratory and field strains of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Then, we determined the effective lethal dose of this plant extract against Aedes larvae using log-probit regression analysis of the SPSS 20.0 programme. Results from bioassay demonstrated that I. cairica leaves extract was highly effective to induce larvicidal mortality of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti within 24 and 48 hours post-treatment. Results from the factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) also indicated that there were significant differences in larvicidal activity between species and strains used (P<0.05). It is interesting to notify that the sequence of effectiveness for the larvicidal activities of I. cairica acethonilic leaves extract is in the manner; Ae. albopictus field strain > Ae. aegypti laboratory strain > Ae. aegypti field strain > Ae. albopictus laboratory strain. The I. cairica leaves extract displayed high larvicidal activity against Ae. albopictus as compared to Ae. aegypti. This is the first evaluation involving the comparison of I. cairica leaves extract effects for the laboratory strain and field strain of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti.

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“…Both taste and smell are important sensory inputs that may signal the quality or content of food. For instance, foods containing potentially harmful secondary metabolites might be avoided as they taste bitter (Muñoz et al 2020). However, some animals rely on these compounds for acquired chemical defenses, such as butterflies that sequester cardenolides and poison frogs that sequester alkaloids (Ruxton et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alkaloid avoidance in poison frog tadpoles

Sanchez

Ramirez

O’Connell

2022

Preprint

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Animals show a spectrum of avoidance-tolerance to foods containing toxic secondary metabolites. However, this spectrum has not been evaluated in animals that may actively seek out these compounds as a chemical defense. Poison frogs sequester toxic and unpalatable alkaloids from their diet, and in some species, tadpoles are exposed to these toxins before the development of their skin granular glands, which are used for toxin compartmentalization. Here, we examined the effects of the alkaloid decahydroquinoline (DHQ) in tadpoles of the Mimetic poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator, using alkaloid supplemented food. We found that although their survival is lowered by the alkaloid, their development is only mildly affected, with no evident effects on their growth. Furthermore, locomotor activity and feeding behavior was altered in the first week of DHQ treatment, probably in part through nicotinic blockade. However, after two weeks, tadpoles learned to avoid the alkaloid by visiting the food area only when necessary to eat. Our results suggest that poison frogs navigate the avoidance-tolerance spectrum during the development of their sequestration machinery.

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Impact of alkaloids in food consumption, metabolism and survival in a blood-sucking insect

Cited by 28 publications

References 80 publications

Cascading effects of caffeine intake by primary consumers to the upper trophic level

Cascading effects of caffeine intake by primary consumers to the upper trophic level

The determination of effective concentration of acethonilic Ipomoea cairica leaves extract against laboratory and field strains of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae

Alkaloid avoidance in poison frog tadpoles

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