A chemical defense deters cannibalism in migratory locusts

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chang, Hetan; Cassau, Sina; Krieger, Juergen; Guo, Xiaojiao; Knaden, Markus; Kang, Le; Hansson, Bill S.
• 署名单位: Max Planck Society; Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Zoology, CAS
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10275
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ade6155
• 发表日期: 2023-05-05
• 页码: 537-543
• 关键词: desert locust; collective motion; phase polyphenism; pheromone; EVOLUTION; DYNAMICS; crickets; prey

摘要

Many animals engage in cannibalism to supplement their diets. Among dense populations of migratory locusts, cannibalism is prevalent. We show that under crowded conditions, locusts produce an anticannibalistic pheromone called phenylacetonitrile. Both the degree of cannibalism and the production of phenylacetonitrile are density dependent and covary. We identified the olfactory receptor that detects phenylacetonitrile and used genome editing to make this receptor nonfunctional, thereby abolishing the negative behavioral response. We also inactivated the gene underlying phenylacetonitrile production and show that locusts that lack this compound lose its protection and are more frequently exposed to intraspecific predation. Thus, we reveal an anticannibalistic feature built on a specifically produced odor. The system is very likely to be of major importance in locust population ecology, and our results might therefore provide opportunities in locust management.