Critical thinking in the chemical ecology of mammalian communication: roadmap for future studies
Critical thinking in the chemical ecology of mammalian communication: roadmap for future studies
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01998.x
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发表时间：
2012-08-01
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Grison, Claude
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Charpentier, Marie J. E.;Barthes, Nicolas;Grison, Claude
1. 先进和敏感的技术现在可以对许多化合物进行分离、定量和化学表征，这些化合物在化学通讯、化学防御和攻击以及同种或异种个体之间的相互作用中发挥作用。在哺乳动物化学通讯的特定子领域，这些快速的技术进步，加上经常缺乏技术背景，导致分子的化学表征和对其作为通讯化学介质的作用的解释出现了严重错误。 2. 本文的目的是强调其中一些方法和分析缺陷，并为更好地理解哺乳动物通讯的化学介导提供基础。我们汇编了最近处理哺乳动物分泌物中发现的分子并在通讯中具有推定作用的文献。精选的 41 项已发表研究涉及 33 种哺乳动物，揭示了 857 种不同分子的报告。基于负责大多数已知次生代谢物生物合成的五种主要代谢途径，我们提出了九种通用生化规则，这将帮助研究人员避免化学表征错误，并帮助解释已识别分子作为哺乳动物通讯化学介质的可能功能作用。 3. 遵循这九项规则，我们表明已发表的研究包括错误或含糊命名的分子、完全非天然来源的分子、由其他生物体产生但不直接由哺乳动物产生的分子，以及生物起源且可能由哺乳动物产生的分子。可以想象，这些类别中只有最后两类可以发挥哺乳动物交流中介的作用。我们讨论了我们评论的出版物中报道的这些化合物的潜在作用。 4. 我们关于化合物鉴定及其作用解释的技术、分析和统计方面的建议应有助于化学生态学家提出适当的问题，包括分子鉴定的准确性、他们所鉴定的分子的生物学相关性以及这些分子在哺乳动物通讯中可能的功能作用。
1. Sophisticated and sensitive technologies now allow separation, quantification and chemical characterization of numerous compounds that play roles in chemical communication, chemical defence and aggression, in interactions between conspecific or heterospecific individuals. In the particular subfield of mammalian chemical communication, these rapid technological advances, combined with a frequent lack of technical background, have led to important errors in both chemical characterization of molecules and interpretation of their roles as chemical mediators of communication. 2. The aim of this article is to highlight some of these methodological and analytical pitfalls and to provide a basis for better understanding of chemical mediation of communication in mammals. We compiled the recent literature treating molecules found in mammalian secretions and having putative roles in communication. A selection of 41 published studies dealing with 33 mammal species revealed reports of 857 different molecules. Based on the five main metabolic pathways responsible for the biosynthesis of most known secondary metabolites, we propose nine general biochemical rules that will help researchers to avoid errors of chemical characterization and to aid in interpreting the possible functional role of identified molecules as chemical mediators of mammal communication. 3. Following these nine rules, we show that published studies include reports of molecules that are incorrectly or ambiguously named, molecules of exclusively non-natural origin, molecules produced by other organisms but not directly by mammals, and molecules of biological origin and possibly produced by mammals. Only the last two of these classes could conceivably play roles as mediators of mammalian communication. We discuss the potential roles of these compounds as reported in the publications we reviewed. 4. Our recommendations concerning technical, analytical and statistical aspects of the identification of compounds and interpretation of their roles should help chemical ecologists ask the appropriate questions about the accuracy of their identifications of molecules, the biological relevance of molecules they do identify and the possible functional roles of these molecules in mammalian communication.