HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Conner, W. E. Articles by Harper, A. E. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Conner, W. E. Articles by Harper, A. E. Related Collections Ecology Evolution Insects Miscellaneous Invertebrates Miscellaneous Vertebrates Neuroscience

Has Vertebrate Chemesthesis Been a Selective Agent in the Evolution of Arthropod Chemical Defenses?

Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: conner{at}wfu.edu

Arthropods use a variety of chemical substances to repel potential predators, but how did they arrive at the suite of chemicals that they use? One way to explore this question is to map chemically defended arthropod species in a multidimensional "compound" space. Clustering within this space indicates species that share similar combinations of chemical compounds and can reflect a phylogenetic signal, common biochemical pathways, or both. More important for this study, clustering can help to identify allomone targets. We herein compare common arthropod allomones with known vertebrate trigeminal irritants. We argue that the degree of overlap between these two groups of compounds indicates that chemesthesis was an important determining factor in the evolution of many arthropod allomones. The multidimensional scaling methods used may also allow the identification of new irritant receptors.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. K. Zimmer and C. D. Derby Biological Bulletin Virtual Symposium: The Neuroecology of Chemical Defense Biol. Bull., December 1, 2007; 213(3): 205 - 207. [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. D. Derby Escape by Inking and Secreting: Marine Molluscs Avoid Predators Through a Rich Array of Chemicals and Mechanisms Biol. Bull., December 1, 2007; 213(3): 274 - 289. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]