Host shifts from Lamiales to Brassicaceae in the sawfly genus Athalia

Plant chemistry can be a key driver of host shifts in herbivores. Several species in the sawfly genus Athalia are important economic pests on Brassicaceae, whereas other Athalia species are specialized on Lamiales. These host plants have glucosides in common, which are sequestered by larvae. To disentangle the possible direction of host shifts in this genus, we examined the sequestration specificity and feeding deterrence of iridoid glucosides (IGs) and glucosinolates (GSs) in larvae of five species which either naturally sequester IGs from their hosts within the Plantaginaceae (Lamiales) or GSs from Brassicaceae, respectively. Furthermore, adults were tested for feeding stimulation by a neo-clerodane diterpenoid which occurs in Lamiales. Larvae of the Plantaginaceae-feeders did not sequester artificially administered p-hydroxybenzylGS and were more deterred by GSs than Brassicaceae-feeders were by IGs. In contrast, larvae of Brassicaceae-feeders were able to sequester artificially administered catalpol (IG), which points to an ancestral association with Lamiales. In line with this finding, adults of all tested species were stimulated by the neo-clerodane diterpenoid. Finally, in a phylogenetic tree inferred from genetic marker sequences of 21 Athalia species, the sister species of all remaining 20 Athalia species also turned out to be a Lamiales-feeder. Fundamental physiological pre-adaptations, such as the establishment of a glucoside transporter, and mechanisms to circumvent activation of glucosides by glucosidases are therefore necessary prerequisites for successful host shifts between Lamiales and Brassicaceae.