The contribution of gustatory input to larval acceptance and female oviposition choice of potential host plants in Papilio hospiton (Géné)
Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology
Published online on November 12, 2018
Abstract
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- "\nAdults females of P. hospiton only lay eggs on \nFerula communis and larvae only
feed on the same plant. The different pattern of activity of GRNs evoked by plant
saps allows both females and larvae to discriminate among them (accepting ferula
as host and rejecting fennel and carrot) thus strengthening the theory that the
peripheral taste sensitivity plays a key role in host acceptance or rejection, and
in the discrimination process between host and nonhost plants.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbstract\nThe
Lepidopteran Papilio hospiton uses only plants belonging to the Apiaceae and the
Rutaceae families as hosts. Both adult females and larvae are equipped with gustatory
receptor neurons (GRNs) capable of detecting sugars, bitters and salts, thus providing
information for evaluating the chemical composition of the plant. Since the activation
of these neurons may affect insect behavior, the aim of this study were: (a) to
study the gustatory sensitivity of both females and larvae to the sap of two Apiaceae,
\nFoeniculum vulgare (fennel) and \nDaucus carota (carrot), that are not used as
host plants; (b) to cross‐compare the spike activity evoked from these two plants
with that evoked by \nFerula communis (ferula), the host plant preferred by ovipositing
females of \nP. hospiton and where the larvae perform best; (c) finally, to confirm
that the gustatory system can provide the central nervous system with the necessary
information to evaluate differences between plant saps. The results show that: (a)
fennel and carrot both evoke a higher neural activity from the bitter‐sensitive
neurons and lower from the sugar‐sensitive neurons with respect to ferula, in both
adult females and larvae; (b) on the basis of the different patterns of neural activity
generated in tarsal, lateral and medial sensilla by fennel and carrot versus ferula,
both adult and larvae possess enough information to discriminate among these plants;
(c) adult females of \nP. hospiton lay eggs where the larvae have the greatest growth
success and this confirms the importance of taste sensitivity in host plants selection."
- 'Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, EarlyView. '