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The “Raison D'être” of pyrrolizidine alkaloids inCynoglossum officinale: Deterrent effects against generalist herbivores

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Abstract

In this study we tested whether pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) ofCynoglossum officinale serve as antifeedants against herbivores. Total PA N-oxide extracts of the leaves significantly deterred feeding by generalist herbivores. Specialist herbivores did not discriminate between food with high and low PA levels. Three PAs fromC. officinale, heliosupine, echinatine, and 3′-acetylechinatine, equally deterred feeding by the polyphagous larvae ofSpodoptera exigua. Although the plants mainly contain PAs in their N-oxide form, reduced PAs deterred feeding byS. exigua more efficiently than PA N-oxides. On rosette plants, the monophagous weevilMogulones cruciger significantly consumed more of the youngest leaves, which had the highest PA level and the highest nitrogen percentage. Larvae ofEthmia bipunctella, which are oligophagous within the Boraginaceae, did not discriminate between leaves. All generalist herbivores tested significantly avoided the youngest leaves with the highest PA levels. In the field, the oldest leaves also were relatively more damaged by herbivores than the youngest leaves. It is hypothesized that the skewed distribution of PAs over the leaves of rosette plants reflects optimal defense distribution within the plant.

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  1. Nicole M. van Dam

    Present address: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, 92521, Riverside, California

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Evolutionary and Ecological Sciences, Research Group Ecology of Plant-Animal Interactions, P.O. Box 9516, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Nicole M. van Dam, Lucienne W. M. Vuister, Cora Bergshoeff, Helene de Vos & ED van Der Meijden

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  2. Lucienne W. M. Vuister
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van Dam, N.M., Vuister, L.W.M., Bergshoeff, C. et al. The “Raison D'être” of pyrrolizidine alkaloids inCynoglossum officinale: Deterrent effects against generalist herbivores. J Chem Ecol 21, 507–523 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02033698

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