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Frog Volatile Compounds: Application of in vivo SPME for the Characterization of the Odorous Secretions from Two Species of Hypsiboas Treefrogs

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Abstract

A novel in vivo design was used in combination with solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to characterize the volatile compounds from the skin secretion of two species of tree frogs. Conventional SPME-GC/MS also was used for the analysis of volatiles present in skin samples and for the analysis of volatiles present in the diet and terraria. In total, 40 and 37 compounds were identified in the secretion of Hypsiboas pulchellus and H. riojanus, respectively, of which, 35 were common to both species. Aliphatic aldehydes, a low molecular weight alkadiene, an aromatic alcohol, and other aromatics, ketones, a methoxy pyrazine, sulfur containing compounds, and hemiterpenes are reported here for the first time in anurans. Most of the aliphatic compounds seem to be biosynthesized by the frogs following different metabolic pathways, whereas aromatics and monoterpenes are most likely sequestered from environmental sources. The characteristic smell of the secretion of H. pulchellus described by herpetologists as skunk-like or herbaceous is explained by a complex blend of different odoriferous components. The possible role of the volatiles found in H. pulchellus and H. riojanus is discussed in the context of previous hypotheses about the biological function of volatile secretions in frogs (e.g., sex pheromones, defense secretions against predators, mosquito repellents).

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Acknowledgments

For helpful observations and assistance in the field we thank Patrick Colombo, Mateus Olivera, Valentina Zaffaroni, Carlos Taboada, and Boris Blotto. For their hospitality in Porto Alegre AEB thanks to Henrique Silva, Caroline Saucier, and Salua Saucier. Jorge Aznarez, Vanesa Simmão, and Mariana Lyra provided assistance in laboratory procedures. Mauricio Rivera-Correa kindly made the drawing of the in vivo sampling device. Gustavo Otati from the Facultad de Ciencias Exacts y Naturales (UBA) built the HS-SPME device for in vivo frog sampling, and Marcelo Vieira Migliorini provided useful comments to improve it. AEB thanks Benjamin Smith for valuable suggestions and encouragement during this study, and Gabriela M. Cabrera for her generous guidance during technical procedures and data analysis, and critical comments on the manuscript.. Heidi Smith-Parker, and two anonymous reviewers made useful comments on the manuscript. A scholarship support for AEB was provided by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). This study was undertaken under the guidelines of the Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), and Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (MACN-CONICET). AEB and JF thank ANPCyT 2007–2202, 2011–1895, 2012–2687, 2013–404, Grants 2013/50741-7 and 2013/50741-7, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and CONICET PIP 11220110100889. JM, EC, EBC, JB and CZ thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (CNPq). EBC, JB, and CZ also thank the Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio grande do sul (FAPERGS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”-CONICET, Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Andrés E. Brunetti & Julián Faivovich

  2. Departamento de Química Orgánica, UMyMFOR-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, 3° piso, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Andrés E. Brunetti

  3. Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário Trindade, 88040-900, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

    Josias Merib & Eduardo Carasek

  4. Laboratório de Química Analítica Ambiental e Oleoquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Avenida Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Elina B. Caramão, Janaina Barbará & Claudia A. Zini

  5. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, 4° piso, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Julián Faivovich

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  1. Andrés E. Brunetti
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  2. Josias Merib
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  3. Eduardo Carasek
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  4. Elina B. Caramão
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  5. Janaina Barbará
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  6. Claudia A. Zini
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Correspondence to Claudia A. Zini or Julián Faivovich.

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Brunetti, A.E., Merib, J., Carasek, E. et al. Frog Volatile Compounds: Application of in vivo SPME for the Characterization of the Odorous Secretions from Two Species of Hypsiboas Treefrogs. J Chem Ecol 41, 360–372 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0564-z

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