大気汚染はハエの交尾を成功させる妨げになる(Air pollution impairs successful mating of flies)

高レベルのオゾンは昆虫の化学的交尾シグナルを破壊するため、世界的な昆虫の減少に寄与している可能性がある High levels of ozone destroy the chemical mating signal of the insects and may thus contribute to global insect decline

2023-03-14 マックス・プランク研究所

<関連情報>

• https://www.mpg.de/19975894/0307-choe-air-pollution-impairs-successful-mating-of-flies-155371-x
• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36534-9

オゾン暴露が昆虫の性的コミュニケーションを阻害する Ozone exposure disrupts insect sexual communication

Nan-Ji Jiang,Hetan Chang,Jerrit Weißflog,Franziska Eberl,Daniel Veit,Kerstin Weniger,Bill S. Hansson & Markus Knaden
Nature Communications  Published:14 March 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36534-9

Abstract

Insect sexual communication often relies upon sex pheromones. Most insect pheromones, however, contain carbon-carbon double bonds and potentially degrade by oxidation. Here, we show that frequently reported increased levels of Anthropocenic ozone can oxidize all described male-specific pheromones of Drosophila melanogaster, resulting in reduced amounts of pheromones such as cis-Vaccenyl Acetate and (Z)-7-Tricosene. At the same time female acceptance of ozone-exposed males is significantly delayed. Interestingly, groups of ozone-exposed males also exhibit significantly increased levels of male-male courtship behaviour. When repeating similar experiments with nine other drosophilid species, we observe pheromone degradation and/or disrupted sex recognition in eight of them. Our data suggest that Anthropocenic levels of ozone can extensively oxidize double bonds in a variety of insect pheromones, thereby leading to deviations in sexual recognition.