New types of flavonol oligoglycosides accumulate in the hemolymph of birch-feeding sawfly larvae.
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.
Vihakas
Matti Antero
MA
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, Turku, FI-20014, Finland. maviha@utu.fi
Kapari
Lauri
L
Salminen
Juha-Pekka
JP
D000818:Animals; D029662:Betula; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D044948:Flavonols / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006027:Glycosides / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000378:metabolism*; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000378:metabolism*; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D013045:Species Specificity
D044948:Flavonols; D006027:Glycosides