挥发性线索在昆虫对食物资源的定位和区分中可以发挥重要作用。据报道,粪便甲虫可以区分不同物种产生的粪便类型,从而表现出行为偏好。然而,在粪甲虫中,挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)在粪便定位和偏好中的作用仍未被探索。在这里,我们进行了几项研究:首先,进行笼式嗅觉计生物测定以评估Bubasbison(鞘翅目:Scarabaeidae)对新鲜马发出的VOC的行为反应,绵羊,和牛粪;其次,同时进行挥发物分析以表征这些粪便类型的挥发物。布巴野牛成虫对马粪的吸引力较大,对牛粪的吸引力较小,他们更喜欢吃草场饮食的马的粪便,而不是吃卢塞恩干草的马的粪便。来自每个牲畜物种的相应粪便样本的挥发性成分包含不同的烷烃组,烯烃,炔烃,酒精,醛类,酮,酯类,酚类物质,和含硫化合物,但是注释的VOC的组成和丰度随粪便类型和牲畜饮食而变化。马粪的挥发物在化学上是最多样化的。来自第三项研究的结果评估了脑电图反应和补充嗅觉测量提供了强有力的证据,吲哚,丁酸,丁酮,对甲酚,skatole,和苯酚,以及甲苯,参与了野牛对粪便的吸引,这些成分的混合物比单个成分更具吸引力。
Volatile cues can play a significant role in the location and discrimination of food resources by insects. Dung beetles have been reported to discriminate among dung types produced by different species, thereby exhibiting behavioral preferences. However, the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in dung localization and preference remains largely unexplored in dung beetles. Here we performed several studies: firstly, cage
olfactometer bioassays were performed to evaluate the behavioral responses of Bubas bison (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) to VOCs emanating from fresh horse, sheep, and cattle dung; secondly, concurrent volatilome analysis was performed to characterize volatilomes of these dung types. Bubas bison adults exhibited greater attraction to horse dung and less attraction to cattle dung, and they preferred dung from horses fed a pasture-based diet over dung from those fed lucerne hay. Volatilomes of the corresponding dung samples from each livestock species contained a diverse group of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, phenols, and sulfurous compounds, but the composition and abundance of annotated VOCs varied with dung type and livestock diet. The volatilome of horse dung was the most chemically diverse. Results from a third study evaluating electroantennogram response and supplementary olfactometry provided strong evidence that indole, butyric acid, butanone, p-cresol, skatole, and phenol, as well as toluene, are involved in the attraction of B. bison to dung, with a mixture of these components significantly more attractive than individual constituents.