Exploitation of gut bacteria in the locust (original) (raw)

Pheromones

Nature volume 403, page 851 (2000) Cite this article

Abstract

The congregation of locusts into vast swarms can cause crop devastation of biblical proportions1. Here we show that guaiacol, a key component of a pheromone derived from locust faecal pellets that promotes the aggregation of locusts2,3,4,5, is produced by bacteria in the locust gut. This adaptation by an insect to exploit a common metabolite produced by indigenous gut bacteria has wide implications for our appreciation of the role of the gut microbiota in insects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Microbial Pathogenicity Group, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
    Rod J. Dillon, Chris T. Vennard & A. Keith Charnley

Authors

  1. Rod J. Dillon
  2. Chris T. Vennard
  3. A. Keith Charnley

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Correspondence toRod J. Dillon.

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Dillon, R., Vennard, C. & Charnley, A. Exploitation of gut bacteria in the locust.Nature 403, 851 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35002669

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