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Archives of The Cold Blooded NewsThe Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological SocietyVolume 31, Number 10; October, 2004 |
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Snake Charming Introduced Virus Kihansi Spray Toad Relocated Rattlesnakes Pumiliotoxin Alkaloids Courses in Herpetology Snake Evolution PREVIOUS ISSUES September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 2003 Index 2002 Index Earlier Issues About the Cold Blooded News CHS Home Page |
Formicine Ants: An Arthropod Source for the Pumiliotoxin Alkaloids of Dendrobatid Poison Frogsby Ralph A. Saporito *, H. Martin Garraffo , Maureen A. Donnelly *, Adam L. Edwards *, John T. Longino and John W. Daly*Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199; Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20892; and Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA 98505Reprinted from Herp Digest, Vol.4, No.44, July 11, 2004.Abstract from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA, May 25, 2004, Vol.101, No.21, 8045-8050. A remarkable diversity of bioactive lipophilic alkaloids is present in the skin of poison frogs and toads worldwide. Originally discovered in neotropical dendrobatid frogs, these alkaloids are now known from mantellid frogs of Madagascar, certain myobatrachid frogs of Australia, and certain bufonid toads of South America. Presumably serving as a passive chemical defense, these alkaloids appear to be sequestered from a variety of alkaloid-containing arthropods. The pumiliotoxins represent a major, widespread, group of alkaloids that are found in virtually all anurans that are chemically defended by the presence of lipophilic alkaloids. Identifying an arthropod source for these alkaloids has been a considerable challenge for chemical ecologists. However, an extensive collection of neotropical forest arthropods has now revealed a putative arthropod source of the pumiliotoxins. Here we report on the presence of pumiliotoxins in formicine ants of the genera Brachymyrmex and Paratrechina, as well as the presence of these ants in the stomach contents of the microsympatric pumiliotoxin-containing dendrobatid frog, Dendrobates pumilio. These pumiliotoxins are major alkaloids in D. pumilio, and Brachymyrmex and Paratrechina ants now represent the only known dietary sources of these toxic alkaloids. These findings further support the significance of ant-specialization and alkaloid sequestration in the evolution of bright warning coloration in poison frogs and toads. Copyright © 1998 - 2006, Colorado Herpetological Society. All rights reserved. | ||
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