in

Experimental evidence challenges the presumed defensive function of a “slow toxin” in cycads

  • Cox, P. A., Banack, S. A. & Murch, S. J. Biomagnification of cyanobacterial neurotoxins and neurodegenerative disease among the Chamorro people of Guam. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 13380–13383 (2003).

    ADS 
    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Brand, L. E., Pablo, J., Compton, A., Hammerschlag, N. & Mash, D. C. Cyanobacterial blooms and the occurrence of the neurotoxin, beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), in south Florida aquatic food webs. Harmful Algae 9, 620–635 (2010).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf, J. S., Banack, S. A., Richer, R. & Cox, P. A. Neurotoxic amino acids and their isomers in desert environments. J. Arid Environ. 112, 140–144 (2015).

    ADS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Violi, J. P., Mitrovic, S. M., Colville, A., Main, B. J. & Rodgers, K. J. Prevalence of (beta)-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and its isomers in freshwater cyanobacteria isolated from eastern Australia. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 172, 72–81 (2019).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jonasson, S. et al. Transfer of a cyanobacterial neurotoxin within a temperate aquatic ecosystem suggests pathways for human exposure. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 107, 9252–9257 (2010).

    ADS 
    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf, J. et al. Toxin analysis of freshwater cyanobacterial and marine harmful algal blooms on the west coast of Florida and implications for estuarine environments. Neurotox. Res. 39, 27–35 (2021).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, P. A. et al. Cyanobacteria and BMAA exposure from desert dust: a possible link to sporadic ALS among Gulf War veterans. Amyotroph. Lateral Scler. 10, 109–117 (2009).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Charlton, T. S., Marini, A. M., Markey, S. P., Norstog, K. & Duncan, M. W. Quantification of the neurotoxin 2-amino-3-(methylamino)-propanoic acid (BMAA) in Cycadales. Phytochemistry 31, 3429–3432 (1992).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiting, M. G. Toxicity of cycads. Econ. Bot. 17, 270–302 (1963).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, P. A., Davis, D. A., Mash, D. C., Metcalf, J. S. & Banack, S. A. Dietary exposure to an environmental toxin triggers neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid deposits in the brain. Proc. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci. 283, 20152397 (2016).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, L. L. & Downing, T. G. A single neonatal exposure to BMAA in a rat model produces neuropathology consistent with neurodegenerative diseases. Toxins 10, 22 (2018).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy, U. et al. Metabolic profiling of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos by NMR spectroscopy reveals multifaceted toxicity of (beta)-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). Sci. Rep. 7, 1–12 (2017).

    ADS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Purdie, E. L., Metcalf, J. S., Kashmiri, S. & Codd, G. A. Toxicity of the cyanobacterial neurotoxin (beta)-N-methylamino-L-alanine to three aquatic animal species. Amyotroph. Lateral Scler. 10, 67–70 (2009).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenner, E. D. et al. Arabidopsis mutants resistant to s (+)-(beta)-methyl-(alpha), (beta)-diaminopropionic acid, a cycad-derived glutamate receptor agonist. Plant Physiol. 124, 1615–1624 (2000).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, D., Wink, M., Sporer, F. & Lounibos, P. Cycads: Their evolution, toxins, herbivores and insect pollinators. Naturwissenschaften 89, 281–294 (2002).

    ADS 
    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Koi, S. & Daniels, J. Life history variations and seasonal polyphenism in Eumaeus atala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Florida Entomol. 100, 219–229 (2017).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Koi, S. A butterfly picks its poison: Cycads (Cycadaceae), integrated pest management and Eumaeus atala Poey (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Entomol. Ornithol. Herpetol. 6 (2017).

  • Brenner, E. D., Stevenson, D. W. & Twigg, R. W. Cycads: Evolutionary innovations and the role of plant-derived neurotoxins. Trends Plant Sci. 8, 446–452 (2003).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Prado, A. The cycad herbivores. Bull. Soc. D’entomol. Quebec 18, 3–6 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  • Popova, A. & Koksharova, O. Neurotoxic non-proteinogenic amino acid (beta)-N-methylamino-L-alanine and its role in biological systems. Biochem. Mosc. 81, 794–805 (2016).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Salzman, S., Whitaker, M. R. L. & Pierce, N. E. Cycad-feeding insects share a core gut microbiome. Biol. J. Lin. Soc. 123, 728–738 (2018).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitaker, M. R. & Salzman, S. Ecology and evolution of cycad-feeding Lepidoptera. Ecol. Lett. 23, 1862–1877 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, X., Escala, W., Papapetropoulos, S., Bradley, W. G. & Zhai, R. G. BMAA neurotoxicity in Drosophila. Amyotroph. Lateral Scler. 10, 61–66 (2009).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, X., Escala, W., Papapetropoulos, S. & Zhai, R. G. (beta)-N-methylamino-L-alanine induces neurological deficits and shortened life span in Drosophila. Toxins 2, 2663–2679 (2010).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mekdara, N. T. et al. A novel lenticular arena to quantify locomotor competence in walking fruit flies. J. Exp. Zool. A Ecol. Genet. Physiol. 317, 382–394 (2012).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Goto, J. J., Koenig, J. H. & Ikeda, K. The physiological effect of ingested (beta)-N-methylamino-L-alanine on a glutamatergic synapse in an in vivo preparation. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. Part C: Toxicol. Pharmacol. 156, 171–177 (2012).

    CAS 

    Google Scholar 

  • Okle, O., Rath, L., Galizia, C. G. & Dietrich, D. R. The cyanobacterial neurotoxin (beta)-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) induces neuronal and behavioral changes in honeybees. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 270, 9–15 (2013).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, P. S. et al. Guam amyotrophis lateral sclerosis-parkinsonism-dementia linked to a plant excitant neurotoxin. Science 237, 517–522 (1987).

    ADS 
    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernays, E. A. & Chapman, R. F. Host-plant selection by phytophagous insects. In Host-Plant Selection by Phytophagous Insects. Contemporary Topics in Entomology, vol. 2, 201–213 (Springer, Boston, MA, 1994).

  • Zandt, P. A. V. Plant defense, growth, and habitat: A comparative assessment of constitutive and induced resistance. Ecology 88, 1984–1993 (2007).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, M. W. Role of the cycad neurotoxin BMAA in the amyotrophic lateral sclerosi-parkisonism dementia complex of the Western Pacific. Adv. Neurol. 56, 301–310 (1991).

    CAS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Banack, S. A. & Cox, P. A. Distribution of the neurotoxic nonprotein amino acid BMAA in Cycas micronesica. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 143, 165–168 (2003).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria (2021).

  • Therneau, T. M. A Package for Survival Analysis in R. R package version 3.2-11 (2021).

  • Kassambara, A., Kosinski, M. & Biecek, P. survminer: Drawing Survival Curves using ’ggplot2’. R package version 0.4.9 (2021).

  • Pennington, Z. T. et al. eztrack: An open-source video analysis pipeline for the investigation of animal behavior. Sci. Rep. 9, 1–11 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Pérez, F. & Granger, B. E. IPython: A system for interactive scientific computing. Comput. Sci. Eng. 9, 21–29 (2007).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer, T. J., Janzen, D. H., Hallwachs, W., Jaffe, S. P. & Fierer, N. Caterpillars lack a resident gut microbiome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 114, 9641–9646 (2017).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson, O., Roman, E. & Brittebo, E. B. Long-term cognitive impairments in adult rats treated neonatally with (beta)-N-methylamino-L-alanine. Toxicol. Sci. 112, 185–195 (2009).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitaker, M. R. L., Salzman, S., Gratacos, X. & Tucker Lima, J. Localized overabundance of an otherwise rare butterfly threatens endangered cycads. Florida Entomol. 103, 519–522 (2021).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Backmann, P. et al. Delayed chemical defense: Timely expulsion of herbivores can reduce competition with neighboring plants. Am. Nat. 193, 125–139 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Yáñez-Espinosa, L. & Sosa-Sosa, F. Population structure of Dioon purpusii rose in Oaxaca, Mexico. Neotrop. Biol. Conserv. 2, 46–54 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, R. K. et al. A switch to feeding on cycads generates parallel accelerated evolution of toxin tolerance in two clades of Eumaeus caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.118 (2021).

  • Grunseich, J. M., Thompson, M. N., Aguirre, N. M. & Helms, A. M. The role of plant-associated microbes in mediating host-plant selection by insect herbivores. Plants 9, 6 (2020).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. & Whalen, J. K. Production of the neurotoxin beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine may be triggered by agricultural nutrients: An emerging public health issue. Water Res. 170, 115335 (2020).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 


  • Source: Ecology - nature.com

    New England renewables + Canadian hydropower

    Architecture isn’t just for humans anymore