Abstract
Chemical defences against parasites and pathogens can be seen in a wide range of animal taxa, including insect pests such as the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Antimicrobial quinone-based secretions can be used by these beetles to defend against various parasites, particularly the fungal entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana. While quinone secretions can inhibit B. bassiana growth, it is unknown how long they remain effective or how individual secretion compounds contribute to growth inhibition. Here, we tested each individual component of the quinone secretions (methyl-1,4-benzoquinone, ethyl-1,4-benzoquinone, and 1-pentadecene), as well as two mixed solutions that represent the composition range found in natural T. castaneum secretions, after aging for 0, 24, or 72 h. The two quinone compounds equally contributed to B. bassiana inhibition, but their efficacy was significantly reduced after 24 h, with no growth inhibition after 72 h. This indicates that quinones protect insects against B. bassiana for only a limited time, perhaps requiring constant secretion into the environment to effectively defend against this fungal threat. Future investigations may consider the extent to which quinone secretions are effective against other parasites, as well as how their ability to cause parasite damage changes with compound age.
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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
This work was funded by a Discovery Grant to Janet Koprivnikar by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN-2020–04622) and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship to Timothy R. Smith.
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All authors contributed extensively to this manuscript. Janet Koprivnikar and Timothy R. Smith designed the study, which was conducted by Timothy R. Smith, with resulting data analysed by both authors. The manuscript was written and reviewed by Janet Koprivnikar and Timothy R. Smith.
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Smith, T.R., Koprivnikar, J. Influences of compound age and identity in the effectiveness of insect quinone secretions against the fungus Beauveria bassiana. Parasitol Res 123, 121 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08145-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08145-w