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Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)2022; 27(13); 4152; doi: 10.3390/molecules27134152

Contrasting Volatilomes of Livestock Dung Drive Preference of the Dung Beetle Bubas bison (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).

Abstract: Volatile cues can play a significant role in the location and discrimination of food resources by insects. Dung beetles have been reported to discriminate among dung types produced by different species, thereby exhibiting behavioral preferences. However, the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in dung localization and preference remains largely unexplored in dung beetles. Here we performed several studies: firstly, cage olfactometer bioassays were performed to evaluate the behavioral responses of (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) to VOCs emanating from fresh horse, sheep, and cattle dung; secondly, concurrent volatilome analysis was performed to characterize volatilomes of these dung types. adults exhibited greater attraction to horse dung and less attraction to cattle dung, and they preferred dung from horses fed a pasture-based diet over dung from those fed lucerne hay. Volatilomes of the corresponding dung samples from each livestock species contained a diverse group of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, phenols, and sulfurous compounds, but the composition and abundance of annotated VOCs varied with dung type and livestock diet. The volatilome of horse dung was the most chemically diverse. Results from a third study evaluating electroantennogram response and supplementary olfactometry provided strong evidence that indole, butyric acid, butanone, -cresol, skatole, and phenol, as well as toluene, are involved in the attraction of to dung, with a mixture of these components significantly more attractive than individual constituents.
Publication Date: 2022-06-28 PubMed ID: 35807397PubMed Central: PMC9268081DOI: 10.3390/molecules27134152Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research explores the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in dung selection by dung beetles, specifically Bubas bison. The study finds that Bubas bison dung beetles are more attracted to the scent of horse dung, particularly from horses fed a pasture-based diet, with various compounds involved in this attraction.

Study’s Approach

  • The study conducted to investigate how the dung beetles Bubas bison respond to VOCs – scents – emanating from different animals’ dung. Specifically, the research focused on the dung from horses, sheep, and cattle.
  • The researchers chose these types of dung because dung beetles have been observed to prefer certain types of dung, but this had not been studied in depth before.
  • They performed cage olfactometer bioassays, a method used to measure the attractiveness of different VOCs to insects. They examined how the beetles responded to the scents from the different types of dung.

Understanding Volatilomes

  • Alongside the olfactometer bioassays, the researchers analyzed the volatilomes of the dung samples. A volatilome is essentially the entire set of VOCs that an organism produces. It is a complex mixture of all the volatile compounds that are found in the dung from these different animals.
  • They discovered that the VOCs included a diverse group of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, phenols, and sulfurous compounds. However, the composition and volume of these VOCs varied depending on the type of dung and the kind of diet the livestock had.
  • The volatilome of the horse dung was the most chemically diverse, which could be a factor in why the Bubas bison beetles preferred it.

Key Findings

  • When analysing the results of the olfactometer bioassays, the study found that Bubas bison beetles were more attracted to the scent of horse dung than that of sheep or cattle dung. Beetles also showed a preference for dung from horses fed on a pasture-based diet over those fed with lucerne hay.
  • Follow-up studies of electroantennogram response and supplementary olfactometry offered further evidence of the beetles’ preference for horse dung. They discovered a group of compounds that specifically attracted the beetles to the dung, including indole, butyric acid, butanone, p-cresol, skatole, phenol, and toluene. The researchers found that a mixture of these compounds was significantly more attractive to the beetles than any individual compound.

Implications

  • This research could help inform our understanding of dung beetle behavior, which plays an important role in nutrient cycling and soil fertility in ecosystems.
  • It can also contribute to potential applications in pest control or other ecological strategies, by manipulating scent attraction.

Cite This Article

APA
Perera NN, Weston PA, Barrow RA, Weston LA, Gurr GM. (2022). Contrasting Volatilomes of Livestock Dung Drive Preference of the Dung Beetle Bubas bison (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Molecules, 27(13), 4152. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134152

Publication

ISSN: 1420-3049
NlmUniqueID: 100964009
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 27
Issue: 13
PII: 4152

Researcher Affiliations

Perera, Nisansala N
  • Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
  • School of Agriculture, Environment and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
Weston, Paul A
  • Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
  • School of Agriculture, Environment and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
Barrow, Russell A
  • Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
Weston, Leslie A
  • Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
  • School of Agriculture, Environment and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
Gurr, Geoff M
  • Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
  • School of Agriculture, Environment and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Leeds Parade, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Bison
  • Cattle
  • Coleoptera / physiology
  • Feces
  • Horses
  • Livestock
  • Sheep
  • Volatile Organic Compounds

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Perera NN, Barrow RA, Weston PA, Rolland V, Hands P, Gurusinghe S, Weston LA, Gurr GM. Characterisation of Antennal Sensilla and Electroantennography Responses of the Dung Beetles Bubas bison, Onitis aygulus and Geotrupes spiniger (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) to Dung Volatile Organic Compounds.. Insects 2023 Jul 12;14(7).
    doi: 10.3390/insects14070627pubmed: 37504633google scholar: lookup