title: Sequestration of aristolochic acid I from Aristolochia pilosa by Mapeta xanthomelas Walker, 1863.
abstract: Sequestration of secondary plant chemicals and brightly colored bodies occur in a number of unpalatable insects. The utilization of toxic plant chemicals has been proposed as a strategy of chemical defense, while aposematic coloration may advertise unpalatability. Here, we tested for the presence of aristolochic acid I in leaves of Aristolochia pilosa and female bodies of Mapeta xanthomelas, obtained from larvae feeding on the plant, using high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The presence of aristolochic acid I in females of this conspicuous diurnal moth, an oligophagous herbivore of Aristolochia, is the first report of sequestration of aristolochic acids by an herbivore other than a species of Papilionidae.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Sistemática Molecular, Departamento de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Carrera 7 No. 43-82, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Durán
authors.forename: Giovanny
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fagua
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robles
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030022:Aristolochia / Q000737:chemistry*; D034341:Aristolochic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D009036:Moths / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
chemical_list: D034341:Aristolochic Acids; C000228:aristolochic acid I