In vitro: |
Journal of Chemical Ecology,1997,23(7):1703-1713. | Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids Mediate Host-Plant Recognition by Ovipositing Females of an Old World Danaid Butterfly, Idea leuconoe[Reference: WebLink] | A giant danaid butterfly, Idea leuconoe, specializes on apocynaceous plants such as Parsonsia laevigata, which has been reported to contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. METHODS AND RESULTS: Females of I. leuconoe deposited eggs in response to methanolic extract of P. laevigata, and subsequent bioassay-guided fractionation of the extract revealed that phytochemicals crucial for host recognition by ovipositing females are Parsonsia-specific macrocyclic pyrrolizidine alkaloids including parsonsianine, Parsonsianidine, and 17-methylParsonsianidine. Parsonine, another P. laevigata pyrrolizidine component with a keto-dihydropyrrolizine moiety that is closely related in structure to male pheromones of the butterfly, and several nonhost pyrrolizidine alkaloids were entirely inactive.
CONCLUSIONS:
We interpret these data as strong evidence for an ancestral association through herbivory between danaid butterflies and pyrrolizidine alkaloids. |
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