Sequestration efficiency, metabolism and excretion of alkaloids in poison frogs and their non-sequestering relatives

• Grant number: 16/09999-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: November 15, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Taran Grant
• Grantee: Adriana Moriguchi Jeckel
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 12/10000-5 - A multi-disciplinary approach to the study of amphibian diversification, AP.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/03577-0 - Mapping of Alkaloids in Dendrobatid Poison Frogs by Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging (DESI-MSI), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Several lineages of anurans independently evolved the ability to secrete alkaloid-containing defensive chemicals acquired from their diet. Although many ecological and chemical aspects of dietary alkaloids have been studied in the last decades, very little is known about the sequestration mechanism in poison frogs. Metabolism and modification of compounds occur usually in order to cope with toxicity and facilitate excretion. However, only a few lineages of poison frogs are known to be able to modify alkaloids. Here, we propose to study the distribution and pharmacokinetics of two alkaloids to better understand their movement through the body of two dendrobatoid species, one of which is capable of sequestering alkaloids and the other is not. These experiments will allow us to identify the organs and tissues involved in alkaloid sequestration, modification, and excretion, and determine whether differences in the uptake efficiency of two different classes of alkaloids can be attributed to different anatomical (and possibly physiological) pathways.

Scientific publications

(6)

(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)

GRANT, TARAN; RADA, MARCO; ANGANOY-CRIOLLO, MARVIN; BATISTA, ABEL; DIAS, PEDRO HENRIQUE; JECKEL, ADRIANA MORIGUCHI; MACHADO, DENIS JACOB; RUEDA-ALMONACID, JOSE VICENTE. Phylogenetic Systematics of Dart-Poison Frogs and their Relatives Revisited (Anura: Dendrobatoidea). South American Journal of Herpetology, v. 12, n. 1, p. S1-S90, SEP 2017. (12/10000-5, 13/20420-4, 08/50928-1, 16/09999-9, 15/11239-0, 13/05958-8, 15/18654-2)

JECKEL, ADRIANA M.; CAORSI, VALENTINA Z.; GRANT, TARAN; BORGES-MARTINS, MARCIO. The Nuptial Pads of Melanophryniscus (Anura: Bufonidae), with the Unexpected Occurrence of Nuptial-Pad-Like Structures in Females of Two Species. Journal of Herpetology, v. 53, n. 1, p. 53-61, FEB 2019. (16/09999-9, 12/10000-5, 13/14061-1)

CARVALHO, ANDRE L. G.; JECKEL, ADRIANA M.; NISA, CAROLINA; LUNA, MARIA CELESTE; PIANTONI, CARLA. A novel epidermal gland type in lizards (alpha-gland): structural organization, histochemistry, protein profile and phylogenetic origins. ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, v. 192, n. 4, p. 1137-1166, AUG 2021. (15/12841-5, 12/10000-5, 16/08249-6, 15/25272-9, 17/20235-3, 16/09999-9)

GRANT, TARAN; RADA, MARCO; ANGANOY-CRIOLLO, MARVIN; BATISTA, ABEL; DIAS, PEDRO HENRIQUE; JECKEL, ADRIANA MORIGUCHI; MACHADO, DENIS JACOB; RUEDA-ALMONACID, JOSE VICENTE. Phylogenetic Systematics of Dart-Poison Frogs and their Relatives Revisited (Anura: Dendrobatoidea). South American Journal of Herpetology, v. 12, p. 90-pg., 2017-09-01. (15/18654-2, 13/20420-4, 13/05958-8, 08/50928-1, 16/09999-9, 15/11239-0, 12/10000-5)

JECKEL, ADRIANA M.; MATSUMURA, KUNIHIRO; NISHIKAWA, KEISUKE; MORIMOTO, YOSHIKI; SAPORITO, RALPH A.; GRANT, TARAN; IFA, DEMIAN R.. Use of whole-body cryosectioning and desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging to visualize alkaloid distribution in poison frogs. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, v. 55, n. 6, JUN 2020. (16/09999-9, 18/03577-0, 18/15425-0, 12/10000-5)

JECKEL, ADRIANA M.; BOLTON, SARAH K.; WATERS, KATHERINE R.; ANTONIAZZI, MARTA M.; JARED, CARLOS; MATSUMURA, KUNIHIRO; NISHIKAWA, KEISUKE; MORIMOTO, YOSHIKI; GRANT, TARAN; SAPORITO, RALPH A.. Dose-dependent alkaloid sequestration and N-methylation of decahydroquinoline in poison frogs. OURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART A-ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOG, v. 337, n. 5, p. 10-pg., 2022-02-24. (16/09999-9, 12/10000-5, 18/15425-0)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

JECKEL, Adriana Moriguchi. Sequestration efficiency and alkaloid composition in poison frogs of the family Dendrobatidae. 2020. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) São Paulo.