Ozone exposure disrupts insect sexual communication

Nan-Ji Jiang, Hetan Chang, Jerrit Weißflog, Franziska Eberl, Daniel Veit, Kerstin Weniger, Bill S. Hansson and Markus Knaden ()
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Nan-Ji Jiang: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Hetan Chang: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Jerrit Weißflog: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Franziska Eberl: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Daniel Veit: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Kerstin Weniger: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Bill S. Hansson: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Markus Knaden: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Insect sexual communication often relies upon sex pheromones. Most insect pheromones, however, contain carbon-carbon double bonds and potentially degrade by oxidation. Here, we show that frequently reported increased levels of Anthropocenic ozone can oxidize all described male-specific pheromones of Drosophila melanogaster, resulting in reduced amounts of pheromones such as cis-Vaccenyl Acetate and (Z)−7-Tricosene. At the same time female acceptance of ozone-exposed males is significantly delayed. Interestingly, groups of ozone-exposed males also exhibit significantly increased levels of male-male courtship behaviour. When repeating similar experiments with nine other drosophilid species, we observe pheromone degradation and/or disrupted sex recognition in eight of them. Our data suggest that Anthropocenic levels of ozone can extensively oxidize double bonds in a variety of insect pheromones, thereby leading to deviations in sexual recognition.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36534-9

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