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Techniques for Investigating the Anatomy of the Ant Visual System
Published on: November 27, 2017
Pyrazines from bacteria and ants: convergent chemistry within an ecological niche
Eduardo A Silva-Junior1, Antonio C Ruzzini2,3, Camila R Paludo1
1Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040903, Brazil.
Abstract:
Ants use pheromones to coordinate their communal activity. Volatile pyrazines, for instance, mediate food resource gathering and alarm behaviors in different ant species. Here we report that leaf-cutter ant-associated bacteria produce a family of pyrazines that includes members previously identified as ant trail and alarm pheromones. We found that L-threonine induces the bacterial production of the trail pheromone pyrazines, which are common for the host leaf-cutter ants. Isotope feeding experiments revealed that L-threonine along with sodium acetate were the biosynthetic precursors of these natural products and a biosynthetic pathway was proposed.
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