Chemical ecology of fruit defense: synergistic and antagonistic interactions among amides from Piper

1. Although ripe, fleshy fruits function primarily to attract seed dispersers, they must also be defended against diverse communities of seed predators and pathogens. For some plants, the concentration and diversity of secondary metabolites in fruits can exceed that of leaves and other plant parts, but little is known about the functional significance of the suites of compounds found in fruits. Fruit secondary metabolites may function in defense, or they may play a variety of other roles in seed development and dispersal. 2. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments to test the effects of amides, a highly diverse class of secondary metabolites found in Piper fruits, on a variety of antagonistic fruit pests, including an insect seed predator (Sibaria englemani, Pentatomidae) and three unidentified species of fungi isolated from ripe Piper reticulatum (Piperaceae) fruits. We tested the effects of amide-rich extracts from unripe and ripe fruits of Piper reticulatum and the effect...