Abstract
The chemical basis of an ant-seed interaction was investigated for the antAphaenogaster rudis and the ant-dispersed violetViola odorata. A laboratory behavioral bioassay was developed to chemically identify the attractant responsible for the interaction. The ant attractant, localized in the elaiosome, was classified as a lipid by both field and laboratory bioassays. Assays of partially purified lipid extracts revealed that the principal attractant may be a diglyceride. Gas-liquid chromatography analysis of the hydrolyzed diglyceride fraction revealed oleic acid as the major fatty acid present, suggesting that either 1,2- or 1,3-diolein may be the attractant. Structure-activity correlations for lipid standards demonstrated a clear preference for the diglyceride 1,2-diolein. The data also suggest that ricinoleic acid is not the lipid eliciting the ant response toViola odorata, as had been previously suggested.
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Marshall, D.L., Beattie, A.J. & Bollenbacher, W.E. Evidence for diglycerides as attractants in an ant-seed interaction. J Chem Ecol 5, 335–344 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987919
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987919