Toxin sequestration of milkweed insects and inhibition of their sodium pump constructs

Repeatable macroevolutionary patterns provide hope for rules in biology, especially when we can decipher the underlying mechanisms. Here we synthesize natural history, genetic adaptations, and toxin sequestration in herbivorous insects that specialize on plants with cardiac glycoside defenses. Work on the monarch butterfly provided a model for evolution of the sequestering specialist syndrome, where specific amino acid substitutions in the insect’s Na+/K+-ATPase are associated with 1) high toxin-resistance (target site insensitivity, TSI), 2) sequestration of toxins, and 3) aposematic coloration. We evaluate convergence for these traits within and between Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera, encompassing hundreds of toxin-adapted species. Using new and existing data on ~28 origins of specialization, we show that the monarch model evolved independently in five taxonomic orders (but not Diptera). An additional syndrome occurs in five orders: aposematic ..., Three types of data are presented: 1) cardenolide concentrations in insects measured by high performance liquid chromatography, 2) cardenolide concentrations in insects measured by mass spectroscopy, and 3) sodium pump enzyme inhibition values (IC50s) measured on several different constructs. Raw data used in statistical analyses are provided.    , , # Raw data on sequestration and sodium pump constructs

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg0n](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg0n)

Three types of data are presented: 1) cardenolide concentrations in insects measured by high performance liquid chromatography, 2) cardenolide concentrations in insects measured by mass spectroscopy, 3) sodium pump enzyme inhibition values (IC50s) measured on several different constructs. Raw data used in statistical analyses are provided.   Analyses of these data is presented in Convergence and divergence among herbivorous insects specialized on toxic plants: revealing syndromes among the cardenolide-feeders across the insect tree of life. To be published in American Naturalist.

## Description of the data and file structure

3 files:

sequestration raw HPLC data: Concentration (µg cardenolide/mg dry plant tissue) estimated from HPLC peak area, sample mass, and an internal standard. Insect species, sample ID, and concentrations are provided. Each c...