Reverse chemical ecology at the service of conservation biology

Abstract

Chemical ecology is the study of the chemical languages, cues, and mechanisms controlling interactions among living beings, including communication among individuals of the same species and between organisms and their environment. Organisms use chemicals to lure their mates, associate with symbionts, deter enemies, and fend off pathogens (1). Since the identification of the silkworm moth sex pheromone almost six decades ago (2), chemical ecologists have been deciphering hundreds of these “Rosetta Stones” (3) by using bioassay-guided protocols. This conventional chemical ecology approach is based on an invasive process of extracting secretions from chemical signal (semiochemical) senders (e.g., female moths), separating extracts into fractions, using receivers (e.g., male moths) to assist in the identification of active ingredients and, finally, by elucidating chemical structures and synthesis. The state-of-the-art techniques in chemical ecology have reduced analysis to even single individuals in many cases, but it is still too invasive for studying endangered or vulnerable species. In PNAS (4), a multidisciplinary group of scientists from China, Italy, and France apply tools of reverse chemical ecology (5) to study chemical communication in the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca , a vulnerable species endemic to China. The giant panda has an obligate bamboo diet and a carnivorous digestive system (6), which leads to a sedentary life with a limited reproduction rate, resulting in only a single offspring every other year. This mismatch of lifestyle and physiology coupled with fragmented habitats in its native environment in southwest China placed the giant panda on a list of … [↵][1]1Email: wsleal{at}ucdavis.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1