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Defence by plant toxins in milkweed bugs ( H eteroptera: L ygaeinae) through the evolution of a sophisticated storage compartment
Author(s) -
BRAMER CHRISTIANE,
FRIEDRICH FRANK,
DOBLER SUSANNE
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
systematic entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.552
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1365-3113
pISSN - 0307-6970
DOI - 10.1111/syen.12189
Subject(s) - biology , compartment (ship) , subfamily , phylogenetics , glycoside , botany , evolutionary biology , biophysics , zoology , anatomy , biochemistry , gene , oceanography , geology
Species of the heteropteran subfamily L ygaeinae possess special subcuticular compartments to store cardiac glycosides, plant‐derived defensive compounds, which they release upon predator attack. In adults of the large milkweed bug, O ncopeltus fasciatus , these storage compartments have previously been described as a modified integument, forming a fluid‐filled dorsolateral space. Here we use three‐dimensional imaging of serial histological sections and synchrotron radiation‐based micro‐computed tomography data to reveal the morphology of these storage compartments and the mechanisms used for the release of a cardiac glycoside‐rich fluid upon attack. Our comparative analysis revealed that the morphology and release mechanism vary among the species investigated. By reconstructing these traits on a recent molecular phylogeny of the L ygaeinae, we demonstrate that the adaptations for the storage and release of cardiac glycosides have evolved in a stepwise manner.