Chemical ecology in anurans: characterization of volatile compounds and peptide pheromones from the skin secretions of frogs

• Grant number: 14/20915-6
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): January 01, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology
• Cooperation agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal researcher: Norberto Peporine Lopes
• Grantee: Andrés Eduardo Brunetti
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/50741-7 - Diversity and conservation of Brazilian amphibians, AP.BTA.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/23725-1 - Genomic Analysis of Skin Symbiotic Bacteria in Frogs as Potential Source of Volatile Compounds, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Biochemical studies from the skin secretions of anurans describe an extraordinary diversity of bioactive compounds, whereas some of them have suggested that chemical communication may have important roles in the reproductive biology of some species. Although there are reports in literature commenting the occurrence of volatile secretions emitted under stress conditions, as well as the existence of volatile and peptide pheromones, only a few works have identified chemical compounds capable of acting as chemical signals. Also, males of several species possess sexually dimorphic skin glands (SDSGs), a possible source of pheromones. The present project aimed to characterize the volatile secretions and to identified the components of SDSGs in species of the tribe Cophomantini (Anura: Hylidae: Hylinae), considering the occurrence of this type of compounds and the presence of SDSGs in several species of this tribe. From the analysis of volatile compounds is expected: (1) to obtain information of the chemical structure and structural diversity of the molecules responsible of the smell, and (2) to determine the biochemical origin of compounds. From the analysis of secretions from SDSGs is expected to identified and characterize the structure of peptides occurring exclusively in males. The results obtained from this project will be an important contribution to the knowledge of the diversity of volatile compounds and of sexual pheromones in anurans, whereas may provide useful information for future researches in the field of chemical communication of this group of animals (AU)

Scientific publications

(11)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; BUNK, BOYKE; LYRA, MARIANA L.; FUZO, CARLOS A.; MARANI, MARIELA M.; SPROEER, CATHRIN; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; LOPES, NORBERTO P.; OVERMANN, JOERG. Molecular basis of a bacterial-amphibian symbiosis revealed by comparative genomics, modeling, and functional testing. ISME Journal, OCT 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

AILIN O'DONOHOE, M. E.; REGUEIRA, ELEONORA; CELESTE LUNA, MARIA; PEREYRA, MARTIN O.; BASSO, NESTOR G.; BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; HERMIDA, GLADYS N. Morphological diversity in the parotoid macroglands of neotropical true toads (Anura: Bufonidae) and its association with the release of glandular secretion. ZOOLOGISCHER ANZEIGER, v. 294, p. 186-195, SEP 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

GONZALEZ, MABEL; PALACIOS-RODRIGUEZ, PABLO; HERNANDEZ-RESTREPO, JACK; GONZALEZ-SANTORO, MARCO; AMEZQUITA, ADOLFO; BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; CARAZZONE, CHIARA. First characterization of toxic alkaloids and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the cryptic dendrobatid Silverstoneia punctiventris. Frontiers in Zoology, v. 18, n. 1 AUG 26 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

TABOADA, CARLOS; BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; LYRA, MARIANA L.; FITAK, ROBERT R.; FAIGON SOVERNA, ANA; RON, SANTIAGO R.; LAGORIO, MARIA G.; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; LOPES, NORBERTO P.; JOHNSEN, SONKE; FAIVOVICH, JULIAN; CHEMES, LUCIA B.; BARI, SARA E. Multiple origins of green coloration in frogs mediated by a novel biliverdin-binding serpin. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. 117, n. 31, p. 18574-18581, AUG 4 2020. Web of Science Citations: 2.

AILIN O'DONOHOE, M. E.; CELESTE LUNA, MARIA; REGUEIRA, ELEONORA; BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; BASSO, NESTOR G.; LYNCH, JOHN D.; PEREYRA, MARTIN O.; HERMIDA, GLADYS N. Diversity and evolution of the parotoid macrogland in true toads (Anura: Bufonidae). ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, v. 187, n. 2, p. 453-478, OCT 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; LYRA, MARIANA L.; MELO, WEILAN G. P.; ANDRADE, LAURA E.; PALACIOS-RODRIGUEZ, PABLO; PRADO, BARBARA M.; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; PUPO, MONICA T.; LOPES, NORBERTO P. Symbiotic skin bacteria as a source for sex-specific scents in frogs. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. 116, n. 6, p. 2124-2129, FEB 5 2019. Web of Science Citations: 2.

CELESTE LUNA, MARIA; ROBERTO VASQUEZ-ALMAZAN, CARLOS; FAIVOVICH, JULIAN; EDUARDO BRUNETTI, ANDRES. Gland composition in sexually dimorphic skin structures of two species of Hylid frogs: Plectrohyla guatemalensis and Ptychohyla hypomykter. Amphibia-Reptilia, v. 40, n. 4, p. 523-529, 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; MARANI, MARIELA M.; SOLDI, RAFAEL A.; MENDONCA, JACQUELINE NAKAU; FAIVOVICH, JULIAN; CABRERA, GABRIELA M.; LOPES, NORBERTO P. Cleavage of Peptides from Amphibian Skin Revealed by Combining Analysis of Gland Secretion and in Situ MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry. ACS OMEGA, v. 3, n. 5, p. 5426-5434, MAY 2018. Web of Science Citations: 2.

BRUNETTI, A. E.; CARNEVALE NETO, F.; VERA, M. C.; TABOADA, C.; PAVARINI, D. P.; BAUERMEISTER, A.; LOPES, N. P. An integrative omics perspective for the analysis of chemical signals in ecological interactions. CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS, v. 47, n. 5, p. 1574-1591, MAR 7 2018. Web of Science Citations: 24.

BRUNETTI, A. E.; MUNOZ SARAVIA, A.; BARRIONUEVO, J. S.; REICHLE, S. Silent sounds in the Andes: underwater vocalizations of three frog species with reduced tympanic middle ears (Anura: Telmatobiidae: Telmatobius). CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, v. 95, n. 5, p. 335-343, MAY 2017. Web of Science Citations: 4.

TABOADA, CARLOS; BRUNETTI, ANDRES E.; PEDRON, FEDERICO N.; NETO, FAUSTO CARNEVALE; ESTRIN, DARIO A.; BARI, SARA E.; CHEMES, LUCA B.; LOPES, NORBERTO PEPORINE; LAGORIO, MARIA G.; FAIVOVICH, JULIAN. Naturally occurring fluorescence in frogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, v. 114, n. 14, p. 3672-3677, APR 4 2017. Web of Science Citations: 25.