荷蘭瓦赫寧根大學(xué)的研究表明一只寄生蜂能夠?qū)W習(xí)識(shí)別一種由交配過(guò)的（或受精的）大菜粉蝶（Pieris brassicae）分泌的氣味。這一現(xiàn)象發(fā)生在它們從其寄居的菜粉蝶身上爬去一株這只蝴蝶剛產(chǎn)完卵的宿主植物的期間,，一天后,，這只寄生蜂就能按相同線路飛行。沒(méi)有此類經(jīng)歷的寄生蜂就不能將交配過(guò)的蝴蝶和未受精的蝴蝶區(qū)分開(kāi),。研究員用實(shí)驗(yàn)證明長(zhǎng)期記憶的產(chǎn)生就是用于記住這種氣味,。
在交配過(guò)程中，雄性大菜粉蝶將一種叫做氰化苯的特別氣味傳輸?shù)狡渑渑俭w內(nèi),。這種氣味能阻擊雄性情敵,。只需一分鐘（僅僅0.5分的時(shí)間）甘藍(lán)夜蛾赤眼寄居蜂就能利用菜粉蝶的性攻擊氣味，它們擁有這與生俱來(lái)的本領(lǐng),。沒(méi)有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的寄生蜂發(fā)現(xiàn)并利用性攻擊氣味來(lái)識(shí)別交配過(guò)的菜粉蝶,，然后寄居在它們身上。當(dāng)這些蝴蝶將它們的卵產(chǎn)在白菜上時(shí),，寄居蜂從菜粉蝶身上爬下來(lái)將它自己的卵產(chǎn)在蝴蝶剛產(chǎn)下的卵中,。通過(guò)這種方式，寄居蜂寄居并殺死蝴蝶的后代,。
對(duì)甘藍(lán)夜蛾赤眼寄居蜂來(lái)說(shuō),，這是一種本能的,、固有的行為,。但對(duì)于與其有近親關(guān)系的廣赤眼蜂來(lái)說(shuō),，就不那么適用了。這種蜂寄居于多種蛾子和的蝴蝶,，其中包括大菜粉蝶,。沒(méi)有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的廣赤眼蜂像甘藍(lán)夜蛾赤眼寄居蜂一樣爬到菜粉蝶身上，但沒(méi)有對(duì)交配過(guò)的雌蝶表現(xiàn)出偏好,。研究員因此得出結(jié)論說(shuō)廣赤眼蜂對(duì)氰化苯?jīng)]有本能反應(yīng),。
由荷蘭瓦赫寧根大學(xué)昆蟲(chóng)學(xué)實(shí)驗(yàn)室的Ties Huigens博士領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的研究小組對(duì)這種寄居蜂能否習(xí)得這種行為感到好奇。而情況恰好如此：如果廣赤眼蜂先前與交配過(guò)的蝴蝶有過(guò)寄居經(jīng)歷,，它就能對(duì)這種性攻擊氣味做出反應(yīng),。一旦搭過(guò)這類蝴蝶的“順風(fēng)車(chē)”并將卵寄生于蝴蝶卵中之后，它們就會(huì)準(zhǔn)確地爬到交配過(guò)的蝴蝶身上并寄居,。僅僅只是“搭便車(chē)”或僅寄居于蝴蝶的卵中對(duì)它們來(lái)說(shuō)并不足以發(fā)展長(zhǎng)期記憶力,。研究員總結(jié)說(shuō)這種寄生蜂能學(xué)著將雌性蝴蝶的性攻擊氣味和將卵寄生于蝴蝶卵中的好處聯(lián)系在一起。
寄居蜂甚至在一天后就會(huì)繼續(xù)展示這種才學(xué)到的行為,，這是長(zhǎng)期記憶的一個(gè)跡象,。為了演示它，研究員提供抑制劑,。服用抑制劑（蛋白質(zhì)合成的抑制劑）的寄居蜂在其搭蝴蝶的“便車(chē)”并將其卵寄居于蝴蝶卵中僅一天后,，他們就不能對(duì)這種性攻擊氣味做出反應(yīng)。顯然它們不能合成產(chǎn)生長(zhǎng)期記憶所需的這種蛋白質(zhì),。研究表明這些僅有如此小的“大腦”（估計(jì)容量比10納升（nanoliters）還?。┑睦ハx(chóng)能形成長(zhǎng)期記憶，盡管這種記憶形成需要大量的能量,?？茖W(xué)家認(rèn)為，昆蟲(chóng)在形成長(zhǎng)期記憶后更難以抵制類如干燥等的應(yīng)激狀態(tài),。
擁有長(zhǎng)期記憶對(duì)這些生命短暫的寄居蜂來(lái)說(shuō)非常重要,，因?yàn)橐簧兄挥袔状螜C(jī)會(huì)搭交配過(guò)的蝴蝶的“便車(chē)”。如果它們很快就忘記一段有用的經(jīng)歷,，就有可能錯(cuò)過(guò)這些僅有的機(jī)會(huì),。來(lái)自瓦赫寧根的昆蟲(chóng)學(xué)家預(yù)計(jì)這種策略是一種普遍的現(xiàn)象。因?yàn)閷?duì)于多種謀殺其他昆蟲(chóng)卵的寄居蜂來(lái)說(shuō),，這是很實(shí)用的,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PNAS Published online before print January 12, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812277106
Hitch-hiking parasitic wasp learns to exploit butterfly antiaphrodisiac
Martinus E. Huigensa,1, Foteini G. Pashalidoua, Ming-Hui Qianb, Tibor Bukovinszkya, Hans M. Smida, Joop J. A. van Loona, Marcel Dickea and Nina E. Fatourosa
aLaboratory of Entomology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8031, 6700 EH Wageningen, The Netherlands; and
bDepartment of Forest Protection, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, No. 233 Guangshan 1 Road, Longdong, Tianhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510520, People's Republic of China
Communicated by Thomas Eisner, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, December 4, 2008 (received for review November 10, 2008)
Abstract
Many insects possess a sexual communication system that is vulnerable to chemical espionage by parasitic wasps. We recently discovered that a hitch-hiking (H) egg parasitoid exploits the antiaphrodisiac pheromone benzyl cyanide (BC) of the Large Cabbage White butterfly Pieris brassicae. This pheromone is passed from male butterflies to females during mating to render them less attractive to conspecific males. When the tiny parasitic wasp Trichogramma brassicae detects the antiaphrodisiac, it rides on a mated female butterfly to a host plant and then parasitizes her freshly laid eggs. The present study demonstrates that a closely related generalist wasp, Trichogramma evanescens, exploits BC in a similar way, but only after learning. Interestingly, the wasp learns to associate an H response to the odors of a mated female P. brassicae butterfly with reinforcement by parasitizing freshly laid butterfly eggs. Behavioral assays, before which we specifically inhibited long-term memory (LTM) formation with a translation inhibitor, reveal that the wasp has formed protein synthesis-dependent LTM at 24 h after learning. To our knowledge, the combination of associatively learning to exploit the sexual communication system of a host and the formation of protein synthesis-dependent LTM after a single learning event has not been documented before. We expect it to be widespread in nature, because it is highly adaptive in many species of egg parasitoids. Our finding of the exploitation of an antiaphrodisiac by multiple species of parasitic wasps suggests its use by Pieris butterflies to be under strong selective pressure.
