Summary.
Female Photuris fireflies sequester defensive steroidal pyrones (lucibufagins) from male fireflies of the genus Photinus. Lucibufagin analyses of Photuris females and Photinus ignitus males show that the lucibufagin mixtures of predator and prey differ in their composition. Analyses of whole body extracts showed that P. ignitus males contain a mixture of eight non-glycosylated lucibufagins, composed mostly of compounds with two oxygenated positions in the steroidal A-ring (C-3, C-5). After feeding on P. ignitus males, Photuris females contain six major lucibufagins. Three of these compounds are not present in the prey, including the novel lucibufagin glycoside 5β,11α-dihydroxy-12-oxo-3β-O-β-D-xylopyranosylbufalin, and two other lucibufagins with a trioxygenated A-ring (C-2, C-3, C-5). These results indicate that Photuris females transform the sequestered lucibufagins both by glycosylation and oxidation, which could affect the systemic transportability of these compounds due to an increase in their polarity.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received 18 February 1999; accepted 19 April 1999.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
González, A., Schroeder, F., Attygalle, A. et al. Metabolic transformations of acquired lucibufagins by firefly “femmes fatales”. Chemoecology 9, 105–112 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s000490050040
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s000490050040