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...1. 成熟肉质果实的主要功能是吸引种子传播者（seed dispersers），但同时也必须抵御种类多样的种子捕食者与病原菌（pathogens）。对于部分植物而言，果实中次生代谢物（secondary metabolites）的浓度与多样性可超过叶片及其他植物组织，但目前学界对果实中此类化合物的功能意义仍知之甚少。果实次生代谢物既可发挥防御功能，也可能在种子发育与传播过程中承担多种其他作用。 2. 本研究通过一系列实验，测试了胡椒属（Piper）果实中一类高度多样的次生代谢物——酰胺类（amides）对多种拮抗性果实害虫的作用效果。供试对象包括一种昆虫种子捕食者：蝽科（Pentatomidae）的Sibaria englemani，以及3株分离自成熟网脉胡椒（Piper reticulatum，胡椒科Piperaceae）果实的未鉴定真菌物种。我们测试了网脉胡椒未成熟与成熟果实中富含酰胺的提取物的作用效果，以及……