Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races

Thousands of armed predatory species, distributed widely across the metazoan tree-of-life, consume only hard-shell or exoskeleton-bearing organisms (called “durophagy”). Prey armor clearly has evolved in response to selection by predators, but there is little evidence of the contrary, counter-adapta...

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Main Authors:	Richard K. Zimmer, Graham A. Ferrier, Cheryl Ann Zimmer
Format:	article
Language:	EN
Published:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Subjects:	chemical cue feeding stimulant durophagy sensory ecology predation Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5
Online Access:	https://doaj.org/article/32f9dd2a9762495dad6e58d20b9dc9a5
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:32f9dd2a9762495dad6e58d20b9dc9a52021-11-12T12:21:21ZChemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races2296-701X10.3389/fevo.2021.752327https://doaj.org/article/32f9dd2a9762495dad6e58d20b9dc9a52021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.752327/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2296-701XThousands of armed predatory species, distributed widely across the metazoan tree-of-life, consume only hard-shell or exoskeleton-bearing organisms (called “durophagy”). Prey armor clearly has evolved in response to selection by predators, but there is little evidence of the contrary, counter-adaptation by predators. Evolved consumer responses to prey, in general, might be more readily expressed in ways other than morphological traits, including via sensory cues. Here, we explored the chemosensory basis for durophagy in a model predator-prey system, and identified intimate associations between durophagous predators and their shelled prey. Barnacles (Balanus glandula and Semibalanus cariosus) bear hard shells and secrete, respectively, a 199 or 201 kDa glycoprotein ortholog (named “MULTIFUNCin”), with expression limited to the body armor (epidermis, cuticle, and live shell). To test for effects of MULTIFUNCin on predators, we constructed faux prey to mimic meaningful physical and chemical characteristics of live barnacles. In separate experiments, each consumer species was presented MULTIFUNCin, purified from either B. glandula or S. cariosus, at a typical armor concentration. All six predatory species (sea star, Pisaster ochraceus; whelks, Acanthinucella spirata, Nucella emarginata, N. ostrina, N. canaliculata, and N. lamellosa) attacked and ate MULTIFUNCin-infused faux prey significantly more than controls. Akin to barnacles, secretion of glycoprotein-rich extracellular matrices is common among armored prey species—from marine sponges to terrestrial vertebrates. Our results, therefore, suggest that chemosensory exploitation of glycoproteins could be widespread, with notable consequences for life on land and in the sea.Richard K. ZimmerRichard K. ZimmerGraham A. FerrierCheryl Ann ZimmerCheryl Ann ZimmerFrontiers Media S.A.articlechemical cuefeeding stimulantdurophagysensory ecologypredationEvolutionQH359-425EcologyQH540-549.5ENFrontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	chemical cue feeding stimulant durophagy sensory ecology predation Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	chemical cue feeding stimulant durophagy sensory ecology predation Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 Richard K. Zimmer Richard K. Zimmer Graham A. Ferrier Cheryl Ann Zimmer Cheryl Ann Zimmer Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races
description	Thousands of armed predatory species, distributed widely across the metazoan tree-of-life, consume only hard-shell or exoskeleton-bearing organisms (called “durophagy”). Prey armor clearly has evolved in response to selection by predators, but there is little evidence of the contrary, counter-adaptation by predators. Evolved consumer responses to prey, in general, might be more readily expressed in ways other than morphological traits, including via sensory cues. Here, we explored the chemosensory basis for durophagy in a model predator-prey system, and identified intimate associations between durophagous predators and their shelled prey. Barnacles (Balanus glandula and Semibalanus cariosus) bear hard shells and secrete, respectively, a 199 or 201 kDa glycoprotein ortholog (named “MULTIFUNCin”), with expression limited to the body armor (epidermis, cuticle, and live shell). To test for effects of MULTIFUNCin on predators, we constructed faux prey to mimic meaningful physical and chemical characteristics of live barnacles. In separate experiments, each consumer species was presented MULTIFUNCin, purified from either B. glandula or S. cariosus, at a typical armor concentration. All six predatory species (sea star, Pisaster ochraceus; whelks, Acanthinucella spirata, Nucella emarginata, N. ostrina, N. canaliculata, and N. lamellosa) attacked and ate MULTIFUNCin-infused faux prey significantly more than controls. Akin to barnacles, secretion of glycoprotein-rich extracellular matrices is common among armored prey species—from marine sponges to terrestrial vertebrates. Our results, therefore, suggest that chemosensory exploitation of glycoproteins could be widespread, with notable consequences for life on land and in the sea.
format	article
author	Richard K. Zimmer Richard K. Zimmer Graham A. Ferrier Cheryl Ann Zimmer Cheryl Ann Zimmer
author_facet	Richard K. Zimmer Richard K. Zimmer Graham A. Ferrier Cheryl Ann Zimmer Cheryl Ann Zimmer
author_sort	Richard K. Zimmer
title	Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races
title_short	Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races
title_full	Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races
title_fullStr	Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races
title_full_unstemmed	Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races
title_sort	chemosensory exploitation and predator-prey arms races
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/32f9dd2a9762495dad6e58d20b9dc9a5
work_keys_str_mv	AT richardkzimmer chemosensoryexploitationandpredatorpreyarmsraces AT richardkzimmer chemosensoryexploitationandpredatorpreyarmsraces AT grahamaferrier chemosensoryexploitationandpredatorpreyarmsraces AT cherylannzimmer chemosensoryexploitationandpredatorpreyarmsraces AT cherylannzimmer chemosensoryexploitationandpredatorpreyarmsraces
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Chemosensory Exploitation and Predator-Prey Arms Races

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