Chem. Senses 26: 983-992,
2001
© Oxford University Press 2001
Taste-enhancing Effects of Glycine on the Sweetness of Glucose
a Gustatory Aspect of Symbiosis between the Ant, Camponotus japonicus, and the Larvae of the Lycaenid Butterfly, Niphanda fusca
Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Nara Women's University, Nara 630-8506, Japan 2 205 Lakeside, 3-2-8 Ishikami-chyo, Nerima-ku, Tokyo 177-0041, Japan
Correspondence to be sent to: Mamiko Ozaki, Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan. e-mail: mamiko{at}ipc.kit.ac.jp
The lycaenid butterfly, Niphanda fusca, has a parasitic relationship with its host ant, Camponotus japonicus: the caterpillars may use chemical mimicry to enter the ant nest where they are fed mouth-to-mouth by the adult ants until pupation. Nevertheless, larvae offer their host ants a nutritious secretion that contains 160 mM glucose and 43 mM glycine. Using glucose and glycine mixture as artificial secretions, we investigated the gustatory effect of glucose and/or glycine on the ants. Glycine induced neither feeding behavior nor gustatory response in the ants if its concentration was <500 mM. In the presence of glycine at the concentration in the secretion, however, the ants improved their preference to glucose, and the sugar receptor cell exhibited electrophysiological enhancement of response to glucose in a glycine-concentration-dependent manner. By adding glycine to glucose in their secretions, therefore, the butterfly larvae can manipulate the gustatory sense of the ants. The alluring taste of `glycine-flavored glucose' could motivate the host ants to feed the larvae and thereby receive the secretions as a reward. The taste enhancement created by the combination of sugar and amino acid may play a role in the evolution of the parasitic relationships of these insects. The taste-enhancing effect appears to be analogous to taste enhancement by `umami' substances in humans.