Chemical composition of volatiles from the syconia of Ficus microcarpa and host recognition behavior of pollinating fig wasps

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2016.0250

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Chemical communication plays a key role in host plant recognition of pollinators. There are two recognized types of chemical communication between syconia and their pollinating fig wasps: one is “generalization”, of which the wasps respond to the relative ratio of multiple compounds, and the other is “specialization”, of which the key signal is a single uncommon, possibly unique, compound. The aims of this study were to identify the chemical composition of volatiles from the syconia of Ficus microcarpa at different developmental phases, and to determine if the signaling between F. microcarpa and its pollinating fig wasp, Eupristina verticillata, is of generalized type, or of specialized type.Methods The volatiles from syconia of F. microcarpa were extracted using solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) at different developmental phases (pre-female, female (before and after pollination), interfloral, male and postfloral phases) and the chemical compounds were identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We then tested the behavioral responses of E. verticillata to fresh syconia at different developmental phases using two-choice olfactometers.Important findings There were 21 volatile compounds identified from the syconia at different developmental phases, which were mainly fatty acid derivatives, terpenoids and aromatic compounds. The components of the volatiles apparently differed among the developmental stages. The contents of terpenoids declined, but the contents of fatty acid derivatives increased, from before the pollination to after the pollination. Especially, the characteristic compounds of 2-heptanone and 3-octanone before the pollination disappeared, D-limonene decreased after the pollination, but copanene, cyclohexane and 2-hexenal increased. The results of the two-choice olfactometer experiment showed that the pollinating fig wasps had higher selection ratio to chemicals found in the female phase syconia than those in other phases; whereas the volatile compounds from the male phase syconia had the function pushing the pollinating fig wasps to leave the natal syconia so that there existed the “push-pull” responses by fig wasps to volatiles released by their host syconia. We conclude that there are multiple chemical compounds playing the roles in host recognition of pollinating fig wasp E. verticillata. The mutualistic relationship between F. microcarpa and E. verticillata is maintained by the chemical communication of “generalization” strategy.

http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/detail/html/ZWSB201705007

Key words: Ficus microcarpa, pollinating fig wasps, chemical communication, syconia, volatiles

Ting ZHANG, Bo WANG, Bai-Ge MIAO, Yan-Qiong PENG. Chemical composition of volatiles from the syconia of Ficus microcarpa and host recognition behavior of pollinating fig wasps[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2017, 41(5): 549-558.

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Figures/Tables 6

References 41

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挥发物 Volatile	分子式 Formula	相对含量 Relative content (%)
挥发物 Volatile	分子式 Formula	PF1	PF2	F1	F2	PP1	PP2	IF1	IF2	M1	M2	P1	P2
脂肪酸衍生物 Fatty acid derivatives
3,7-二甲基-1,6辛二烯-3-醇 3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol	C₁₀H₁₈O	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.55	13.74	0	0
2-庚酮 2-Heptanone	C₇H₁₄O	0	0	11.94	8.29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2-己烯醛 2-Hexenal	C₆H₁₀O	2.96	6.24	1.24	0.84	1.78	1.29	4.41	10.13	0	0	0	0
3-己烯-1-醇 3-Hexen-1-ol	C₆H₁₂O	13.24	9.93	5.31	7.28	3.95	6.53	13.65	18.17	0	0	0	0
3-辛酮 3-Octanone	C₈H₁₆O	0	0	0.58	0.44	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
癸醛 Decanal	C₁₀H₂₀O	0	0	0	0	0	0	6.71	2.60	0	0	0	0
癸烷 Decane	C₁₀H₂₂	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.16	6.12	0	0	0	0
十二烷 Dodecane	C₁₂H₂₆	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.22	1.55	0	0
己醛 Hexanal	C₆H₁₂O	0	0	3.67	2.95	0.77	1.13	0	0	0	0	0	0
壬醛 Nonanal	C₉H₁₈O	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.19	13.31	0	0
辛酸乙酯 Octanoic acid, ethyl ester	C₁₀H₂₀O₂	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.76	1.99	0	0	0	0
十三烷 Tridecane	C₁₃H₂₈	0.32	0.30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27.22	7.98
萜类化合物 Terpenoids
α-荜澄茄油烯 α-cubebene	C₁₅H₂₄	0	0	1.09	0.45	1.76	1.83	0	0	0	0	0	0
1,2,4-甲桥-苯并环戊烯 1,2,4-Metheno-1H-indene	C₁₅H₂₄	9.23	6.46	7.89	8.84	0.99	1.88	4.37	3.85	8.26	8.49	0	0
3,7-二甲基-1,3,6环己烯 3,7-dimethyl-1,3,6-octatriene	C₁₀H₁₆	0	0	0.47	0.55	2.34	1.09	11.63	13.75	12.33	11.17	0	0
反式-2,4-己二烯 (E,E)-2,4-hexadiene,	C₆H₁₀	4.43	7.53	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
石竹烯 Caryophyllene	C₁₅H₂₄	8.04	7.95	5.92	8.19	2.71	1.45	6.70	8.89	6.94	8.71	6.06	11.44
可巴烯 Copaene	C₁₅H₂₄	54.85	50.85	44.33	52.82	71.08	76.85	42.21	33.23	48.51	43.03	36.28	43.77
D-柠檬烯 D-limonene	C₁₀H₁₆	2.34	7.17	15.46	7.34	12.40	2.16	0	0	0	0	0	0
芳香族化合物 Aromatic compounds
苯甲酸乙酯 Benzoic acid, ethyl ester	C₉H₁₀O₂	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.40	1.27	0	0	15.39	18.67
环己烷 Cyclohexane	C₆H₁₂	4.59	3.57	2.09	2.00	2.21	5.78	0	0	0	0	15.04	18.13

挥发物 Volatile	分子式 Formula	相对含量 Relative content (%)
挥发物 Volatile	分子式 Formula	PF1	PF2	F1	F2	PP1	PP2	IF1	IF2	M1	M2	P1	P2
脂肪酸衍生物 Fatty acid derivatives
3,7-二甲基-1,6辛二烯-3-醇 3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol	C₁₀H₁₈O	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.55	13.74	0	0
2-庚酮 2-Heptanone	C₇H₁₄O	0	0	11.94	8.29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2-己烯醛 2-Hexenal	C₆H₁₀O	2.96	6.24	1.24	0.84	1.78	1.29	4.41	10.13	0	0	0	0
3-己烯-1-醇 3-Hexen-1-ol	C₆H₁₂O	13.24	9.93	5.31	7.28	3.95	6.53	13.65	18.17	0	0	0	0
3-辛酮 3-Octanone	C₈H₁₆O	0	0	0.58	0.44	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
癸醛 Decanal	C₁₀H₂₀O	0	0	0	0	0	0	6.71	2.60	0	0	0	0
癸烷 Decane	C₁₀H₂₂	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.16	6.12	0	0	0	0
十二烷 Dodecane	C₁₂H₂₆	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.22	1.55	0	0
己醛 Hexanal	C₆H₁₂O	0	0	3.67	2.95	0.77	1.13	0	0	0	0	0	0
壬醛 Nonanal	C₉H₁₈O	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.19	13.31	0	0
辛酸乙酯 Octanoic acid, ethyl ester	C₁₀H₂₀O₂	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.76	1.99	0	0	0	0
十三烷 Tridecane	C₁₃H₂₈	0.32	0.30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27.22	7.98
萜类化合物 Terpenoids
α-荜澄茄油烯 α-cubebene	C₁₅H₂₄	0	0	1.09	0.45	1.76	1.83	0	0	0	0	0	0
1,2,4-甲桥-苯并环戊烯 1,2,4-Metheno-1H-indene	C₁₅H₂₄	9.23	6.46	7.89	8.84	0.99	1.88	4.37	3.85	8.26	8.49	0	0
3,7-二甲基-1,3,6环己烯 3,7-dimethyl-1,3,6-octatriene	C₁₀H₁₆	0	0	0.47	0.55	2.34	1.09	11.63	13.75	12.33	11.17	0	0
反式-2,4-己二烯 (E,E)-2,4-hexadiene,	C₆H₁₀	4.43	7.53	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
石竹烯 Caryophyllene	C₁₅H₂₄	8.04	7.95	5.92	8.19	2.71	1.45	6.70	8.89	6.94	8.71	6.06	11.44
可巴烯 Copaene	C₁₅H₂₄	54.85	50.85	44.33	52.82	71.08	76.85	42.21	33.23	48.51	43.03	36.28	43.77
D-柠檬烯 D-limonene	C₁₀H₁₆	2.34	7.17	15.46	7.34	12.40	2.16	0	0	0	0	0	0
芳香族化合物 Aromatic compounds
苯甲酸乙酯 Benzoic acid, ethyl ester	C₉H₁₀O₂	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.40	1.27	0	0	15.39	18.67
环己烷 Cyclohexane	C₆H₁₂	4.59	3.57	2.09	2.00	2.21	5.78	0	0	0	0	15.04	18.13