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Piperidine alkaloids from fire ants are not sequestered by the green and black poison frog (Dendrobates auratus)

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Abstract

Neotropical poison frogs possess alkaloid-based antipredator defenses which they sequester from a diet of arthropods such as oribatid mites and myrmicine ants. Alkaloid sequestration is still poorly understood and although several studies have examined its uptake, most experiments directly feed alkaloids to the frogs. Here, we examined the alkaloid uptake system in the poison frog species Dendrobates auratus by feeding it an alkaloid-containing prey item, the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta (Formicidae, Myrmicinae). Captive bred frogs were either fed live ants or fruit flies dusted with powdered ants for 4 months. Using GC–MS, we confirm that S. invicta contain previously described piperidine alkaloids known as solenopsins; however, none of these piperidine alkaloids was detected in the skin of D. auratus, suggesting the frogs are incapable of sequestering solenopsins from S. invicta. It is possible that D. auratus are unable to sequester fire ant piperidines due to their long hydrocarbon side chains, a feature that makes them structurally different than most known alkaloids in poison frogs.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Allison M. Anthony, Adam M. M. Stuckert and Miho Yoshioka for their help taking care of the frogs, and M. A. Nichols for his assistance in maintaining the GC–MS.

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by an ECU THCAS Advancement Council Distinguished Professorship in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics to Kyle Summers, and a Kresge Challenge Grant awarded to JCU.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA

    Ian Davison & Kyle Summers

  2. Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, 44118, USA

    Ralph A. Saporito

  3. Department of Wildlife-/Zoo-Animal-Biology and Systematics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, 63438, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Lisa M. Schulte

Authors
  1. Ian Davison
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  2. Ralph A. Saporito
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  3. Lisa M. Schulte
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  4. Kyle Summers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ralph A. Saporito.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The protocol used was approved by East Carolina University’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (AUP protocol #D288).

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All the authors declare their consent for publication.

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Communicated by Günther Raspotnig.

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Davison, I., Saporito, R.A., Schulte, L.M. et al. Piperidine alkaloids from fire ants are not sequestered by the green and black poison frog (Dendrobates auratus). Chemoecology 31, 391–396 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-021-00357-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-021-00357-1

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