甲虫使阴招赶跑情敌

2011-10-10 11:28 · darcy

一种隐翅虫甲虫通过在雌虫体内留下恶臭气味来赶跑情敌。

Aleochara curtula,一种隐翅虫

一种雄性甲虫(Aleochara curtula)利用恶臭的气味来提高自己成功延续后代的机会。它们向交配过的雌虫身体里注入一种难闻的物质,使得它们的配偶对自己的情敌来说毫无半点吸引力。

德国弗莱堡大学的Jerry Schlechter-Helas和其同事对那些刚进行过交配的雌虫进行检测,鉴定出了这种难闻的化学物质。当研究小组用这种化学物质沾染那些还未进行过交配的雌虫后,他们发现,雄虫与那些雌虫接触的时间要比通常接触的时间要少。

Jerry Schlechter-Helas说,雌虫其实也受益于这种难闻的气味,因为一旦受精之后它们就不会再受累于其他雄虫。(生物探索william译)

相关英文论文摘要:

A contact anti-aphrodisiac pheromone supplied by the spermatophore in the rove beetle Aleochara curtula: mode of transfer and evolutionary significance

By reducing the attractiveness of their mating partner via an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone, males can prevent a remating of the female and thus reduce the risk of sperm competition. For females, the main benefit from allowing the chemical manipulation of their attractiveness is probably the avoidance of sexual harassments from rival males. While mating plugs generally constitute a physical barrier which hinders male mating attempts, chemical manipulations must trustfully inform the responding male of the female’s reluctance to mate; otherwise, it would be beneficial to ignore the repellent information. In our experiments, males of the polyandrous rove beetle Aleochara curtula chemically manipulated the attractiveness of their mating partner. Coincident with the deposition of a spermatophore into the female genital chamber, an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone was transferred and readily spread onto the female surface, where it was subsequently perceived by rival males via parameres, the claspers of the male genitalia. Males aborted contact with the mated female to avoid further time- and energy-consuming elements of the mating sequence. The chemical mode of action was demonstrated inter alia by spicing virgin females with spermatophore extracts. The action of the anti-aphrodisiac correlated with the persistence of the spermatophore in the female genital chamber and corresponded to the length of stay of the mated female at a carcass, where the density of rival males is highest. The ensuing benefits for all three parties involved in this communication system, which render this post-copulatory mate guarding strategy evolutionary stable, are discussed.

英文原文链接https://www.springerlink.com/content/027166x4ul34q502/

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