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Chemical and evolutionary analysis of the scent gland secretions of two species of Gonyleptes Kirby, 1819 (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores)

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Abstract

The subfamily Gonyleptinae is the second largest in Gonyleptidae, harboring over 100 species. Gonyleptinae is polyphyletic, nestled in the clade K92, and despite its richness, several species of that subfamily have not had their chemicals of the defensive secretions analyzed. Among these are Gonyleptes curticornis (Mello-Leitão, 1940) and G. horridus Kirby, 1819, the latter being particularly important, because it is the type species of the genus, which in turn names the subfamily Gonyleptinae. Gonyleptes horridus is also used in many phylogenetic analyses, be it using morphological or molecular data. The chemical study of the secretions of these two species by GC–MS and 1H NMR showed the presence of 1-(6-isopropyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)-methylbutanone, 1-(6-isopropyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-yl) isobutanone and 4-methyl-1-hepten-3-one in both species. On the other hand, 4-methyl-1-hexen-3-one was observed only in G. curticornis, and 7-methyl-2-octanol is exclusive of G. horridus. All vinyl-ketones identified have already been described for Gonyleptidae. We ran an Ancestral Character State Reconstruction (ASR) analysis under three different conditions to infer the evolution of the identified compounds (based on modified characters of a previous study) and their chemical nature (multistate character, either as alkylphenol, benzoquinone or vinyl-ketone) on a modified Gonyleptidae phylogeny. Our results corroborate previous studies that alkylphenol is the ancestral most condition, changing to benzoquinone in the ancestor of Gonyleptidae or even earlier in a grassatorean ancestor depending on the analysis. Vinyl-ketones are a synapomorphy of K92. We briefly discuss character codifications and use of weights of ASR analyses of specific compounds, which were inconclusive. 1-(6-isopropyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-yl) isobutanone is shared by both Gonyleptes species and described for the genus Sodreana Mello-Leitão, 1922. 1-(6-(1-methyl-propyl)3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran-2yl)2-methylbutanone and 4-methyl-1-hepten-3-one are also shared by both Gonyleptes species and described for Moreiranula saprophila. From a taxonomic standpoint, combinations of specific compounds might help to diagnose supraspecific groups but given our limited sample, such decision should be taken with care and further tested. Finally, 7-methyl-2-octanol is described for the first time in Gonyleptidae, emphasizing the chemical diverse nature in the K92 clade.

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Acknowledgements

We thank to Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti, Norton Felipe Dos Santos Silva and Ludson Neves de Ázara for assisting in collecting harvestmen. We also thank the editor and anonymous referees for the comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript.

Funding

The grant awarded to M.L.S.V supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, grant 2019/13645–6), FAPESP (2018/07193–2) to MRH, and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (#E-26/211.859/2021 FAPERJ APQ1, |#E-26/210.297/2021 FAPERJ COLBIO) to ACM" and FAPESP 2020/05158–5 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) 302879/2016–1 to RHW.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil

    Matheus Lima Silva Vieira

  2. School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil

    Marcos Ryotaro Hara, Rodrigo Hirata Willemart & Miriam Sannomiya

  3. Department of Zoology, Institute of Biology Roberto de Alcantara Gomes, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil

    Amanda Cruz Mendes

  4. Postgraduate Program in Zoology, Biosciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Rodrigo Hirata Willemart

  5. Department of Botany, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil

    Aline Bertinatto Cruz & Deborah Yara Alves Cursino dos Santos

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  1. Matheus Lima Silva Vieira
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All authors contributed to the conceptualization, formal analyses, investigation, methodology, supervision and writing of the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Miriam Sannomiya.

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Communicated by Günther Raspotnig.

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Vieira, M.L.S., Hara, M.R., Mendes, A.C. et al. Chemical and evolutionary analysis of the scent gland secretions of two species of Gonyleptes Kirby, 1819 (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores). Chemoecology 33, 1–15 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-023-00380-4

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