Chemistry of Plant-Insect Interactions in Costa Rica

该奖项将支持科罗拉多州立大学的Frank R.Stermitz教授与哥斯达黎加自然生产调查中心(CIPRONA)的Oscar Castro教授合作。研究人员打算扩大目前对含有生物碱的植物和昆虫化学的研究，这些植物和昆虫与这些植物有专门的相互作用。专门针对一种或几种植物的昆虫必须克服寄主植物精心设计的化学防御。他们可能使用植物中的化学物质来形成信息素或防御性物质，或者可能已经获得了代谢或消除植物化学物质的特殊方法。研究人员将对哥斯达黎加瓜纳卡斯特国家公园的三种狮身人面像蛾进行研究，这些种分布在三种植物中，都属于大豆科植物。这些寄主植物的特殊选择似乎没有任何明显的季节或环境原因，这表明化学因素可能起到了作用。来自发展中国家科学计划的支持将允许合作者将研究扩展到其他物种。对专门昆虫利用植物物种的化学研究将对理解植物防御和昆虫专化的进化具有重要价值。据保守估计，超过50%的生物物种是由植食性昆虫及其寄主植物组成的。因此，从长远来看，了解植物与昆虫的相互作用将提供有关世界生物多样性的主要部分的信息。

This award will support Professor Frank R. Stermitz of Colorado State University in collaboration with Professor Oscar Castro of the Centro de Investigacion de Productos Naturales (CIPRONA) in Costa Rica. The investigators intend to extend current research on the chemistry of alkaloid containing plants and insects involved in specialized interactions with these plants. Insects that specialize on one or a few plant species have to overcome chemical defenses elaborated by the host plant. They may use chemicals from the plant to fashion pheromones, or defensive substances, or may have achieved special methods for the metabolism or elimination of plant chemicals. The researchers will study three sphingid moth species in Guanacaste National Park in Costa Rica that distribute themselves among three plant species, all in the family Bignoniaceae. There does not appear to be any obvious seasonal or environmental reasons for these special choices of hostplant and it is suggested that chemical factors may play a part. Support from the Science in Developing Countries Program will allow the collaborators to expand the investigation to other species as well. The chemical study of plant species utilized by specialist insects will be valuable in understanding the evolution of plant defense and insect specialization. It has been conservatively estimated that over 50% of all biological species are made up of combination of phytophagous insects and their hostplants. Thus, in the long term, understanding of plant-insect interactions will provide information on a major part of the world's biodiversity.