10.5061/DRYAD.2R23J1Q
Pinheiro de Castro, Érika C.
University of Copenhagen
Zagrobelny, Mika
University of Copenhagen
Zurano, Juan Pablo
Federal University of Para
Zikan Cardoso, Márcio
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
Feyereisen, René
University of Copenhagen
Bak, Søren
University of Copenhagen
Data from: Sequestration and biosynthesis of cyanogenic glucosides in
passion vine butterflies and consequences for the diversification of their
host plants
Dryad
dataset
2019
LC-MS/MS
Passiflora
Heliconius
Heliconiini
cyanogenic glucosides
2019-05-08T06:54:14Z
2019-05-08T06:54:14Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5062
1165051993 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The colorful heliconiine butterflies are distasteful to predators due to
their content of defense compounds called cyanogenic glucosides (CNglcs),
which they biosynthesize from aliphatic amino acids. Heliconiine larvae
feed exclusively on Passiflora plants where ~30 kinds of CNglcs have been
reported. Among them, some CNglcs derived from cyclopentenyl glycine can
be sequestered by some Heliconius species. In order to understand the
evolution of biosynthesis and sequestration of CNglcs in these butterflies
and its consequences for their arms race with Passiflora plants, we
analyzed the CNglc distribution in selected heliconiine and Passiflora
species. Sequestration of cyclopentenyl CNglcs is not an exclusive trait
of Heliconius, since these compounds were present in other heliconiines
such as Philaethria, Dryas and Agraulis, and in more distantly related
genera Cethosia and Euptoieta. Thus, it is likely that the ability to
sequester cyclopentenyl CNglcs arose in an ancestor of the Heliconiinae
subfamily. Biosynthesis of aliphatic CNglcs is widespread in these
butterflies, although some species from the sara‐sapho group seem to have
lost this ability. The CNglc distribution within Passiflora suggests that
they might have diversified their cyanogenic profile to escape heliconiine
herbivory. This systematic analysis improves our understanding on the
evolution of cyanogenesis in the heliconiine–Passiflora system.
Heliconiine and Passiflora dataLC-MS/MS data from different species of
heliconiine butterflies and Passiflora plants