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Chemical alarm in the termite Termitogeton planus (Rhinotermitidae)

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Abstract

Effective defense is a common characteristic of insect societies. Indeed, the occurrence of specialized defenders, soldiers, has been the first step toward eusociality in several independent lineages, including termites. Among the multitude of defensive strategies used by termite soldiers, defense by chemicals plays a crucial role. It has evolved with complexity in advanced isopteran lineages, whose soldiers are equipped with a unique defensive organ, the frontal gland. Besides direct defense against predators, competitors, and pathogens, the chemicals emitted by soldiers from the frontal gland are used as signals of alarm. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition of the defensive secretion produced by soldiers of the termite Termitogeton planus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), from West Papua, and the effects of this secretion on the behavior of termite groups. Detailed two-dimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses of the soldier defensive secretion revealed the presence of four linear and nine monoterpene hydrocarbons. Soldier head extracts, as well as synthetic mixtures of the monoterpenes found in these extracts, elicited alarm behavior in both soldiers and pseudergates. Our results suggest that the alarm is not triggered by a single monoterpene from the defensive blend, but by a multi-component signal combining quantitatively major and minor compounds.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support was provided by the Czech Science Foundation (P506/10/1570) and by the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague (RVO: 61388963). We are grateful to collaborators Jan Šobotník and Thomas Bourguignon for help with the collection of T. planus and to Petr Jahoda for logistic support during the mission to West Papua. We thank Irena Valterová and two anonymous reviewers for comments on the previous version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic

    Klára Dolejšová, Jana Krasulová & Robert Hanus

  2. Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Albertov 6, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic

    Klára Dolejšová, Jana Krasulová & Kateřina Kutalová

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  1. Klára Dolejšová
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  2. Jana Krasulová
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  3. Kateřina Kutalová
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  4. Robert Hanus
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Correspondence to Jana Krasulová.

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Dolejšová, K., Krasulová, J., Kutalová, K. et al. Chemical alarm in the termite Termitogeton planus (Rhinotermitidae). J Chem Ecol 40, 1269–1276 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-014-0515-0

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