Seed odor mediates an obligate ant-plant mutualism in Amazonian rainforests.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Elsa YoungsteadtCoby Schal

Abstract

Seed dispersal mutualisms are essential for the survival of diverse plant species and communities worldwide. Among invertebrates, only ants have a major role in seed dispersal, and thousands of plant species produce seeds specialized for ant dispersal in "diffuse" multispecies interactions. An outstanding but poorly understood ant-seed mutualism occurs in the Amazonian rainforest, where arboreal ants collect seeds of several epiphyte species and cultivate them in nutrient-rich nests, forming abundant and conspicuous hanging gardens known as ant-gardens (AGs). AG ants and plants are dominant members of lowland Amazonian ecosystems, and their interaction is both specific and obligate, but the means by which ants locate, recognize, and accept their mutualist seeds while rejecting other seeds is unknown. Here we address the chemical and behavioral basis of the AG interaction. We show that workers of the AG ant Camponotus femoratus are attracted to odorants emanating from seeds of the AG plant Peperomia macrostachya, and that chemical cues also elicit seed-carrying behavior. We identify five compounds from P. macrostachya seeds that, as a blend, attract C. femoratus workers. This report of attractive odorants from ant-dispersed seed...Continue Reading

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Citations

Mar 21, 2008·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Jerrold Meinwald, Thomas Eisner
Dec 21, 2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Dorit EliyahuCoby Schal
Feb 6, 2009·PloS One·Elsa YoungsteadtCoby Schal
Jan 15, 2014·Journal of Experimental Botany·Jürgen KreuzwieserHeinz Rennenberg
Jun 9, 2009·The New Phytologist·Céline LeroyRégis Céréghino
Feb 7, 2013·The New Phytologist·Natalia DudarevaIan Kaplan
Oct 31, 2014·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Caroline WanjikuBaldwyn Torto
Nov 22, 2016·Nature Plants·Guillaume Chomicki, Susanne S Renner
Mar 6, 2018·Plant Biology·J Morales-LinaresC Díaz-Castelazo
Apr 21, 2018·The New Phytologist·Gao ChenWei-Bang Sun
Aug 21, 2009·Natural Product Reports·James R Hanson
Jan 19, 2020·Insects·Antonin J J CrumièreJonathan Z Shik
Feb 7, 2020·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Izalnei Feres PereiraAry Gomes da Silva
Jun 12, 2020·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Luciana ElizaldeGabriela I Pirk
Mar 17, 2017·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Guillaume Chomicki, Susanne S Renner
Mar 17, 2017·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Guillaume ChomickiSusanne S Renner
May 23, 2019·Current Opinion in Insect Science·Annika S NelsonKailen A Mooney
Jul 27, 2021·Ecology and Evolution·Mikihisa YamadaAkio Imamura

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