A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
New Types of Flavonol Oligoglycosides Accumulate in the Hemolymph of Birch-Feeding Sawfly Larvae
Authors: Vihakas MA, Kapari L, Salminen JP
Publisher: SPRINGER
Publication year: 2010
Journal: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
Journal acronym: J CHEM ECOL
Number in series: 8
Volume: 36
Issue: 8
First page : 864
Last page: 872
Number of pages: 9
ISSN: 0098-0331
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-010-9822-2
Abstract
Larvae of nine species of sawflies (Symphyta) were fed with the foliage of three birch species, after which the larval hemolymph composition was studied by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-MS. The hemolymph of sawfly larvae contained high concentrations of flavonol oligoglycosides (tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexaglycosides) that could not be found in the larval foliar diet. In addition, there were significant between-sawfly species differences in both flavonoid composition and concentration (from 0.6 to 12.3 mg/ml) of the hemolymph. This suggested that the studied species have different biosynthetic activities for the synthesis of flavonoid oligoglycosides. Variation in the foliar diets did not cause differences in the hemolymph composition. Our hypothesis is that sawflies use foliar flavonoid monoglycosides rather than flavonoid aglycones to produce these new types of oligoglycosides. These findings open up new possibilities for understanding the more holistic role of flavonoids in insect biochemistry and complex interactions between plants and herbivores.
Larvae of nine species of sawflies (Symphyta) were fed with the foliage of three birch species, after which the larval hemolymph composition was studied by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-MS. The hemolymph of sawfly larvae contained high concentrations of flavonol oligoglycosides (tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexaglycosides) that could not be found in the larval foliar diet. In addition, there were significant between-sawfly species differences in both flavonoid composition and concentration (from 0.6 to 12.3 mg/ml) of the hemolymph. This suggested that the studied species have different biosynthetic activities for the synthesis of flavonoid oligoglycosides. Variation in the foliar diets did not cause differences in the hemolymph composition. Our hypothesis is that sawflies use foliar flavonoid monoglycosides rather than flavonoid aglycones to produce these new types of oligoglycosides. These findings open up new possibilities for understanding the more holistic role of flavonoids in insect biochemistry and complex interactions between plants and herbivores.