Orientador: José Paulo Leite Guadanucci / Abstract: Spiders are generally solitary, aggressive, potential cannibal predators, and have poor visual acuity. These features may have favored a strong selection for long-distance communication, such as chemical and/or vibratory signaling. The pheromone usage is an example of signal used during intersexual communication and have been chemically identified in eleven araneomorph species. To the emission of the pheromones, females can use their cuticle or web, and for the perception of these substances, araneomorph males use chemosensory setae located in the dorsal side of the pedipalps. In mygalomorphs, it was reported the presence of a chemosensory setae in an Idiops pylorus male, identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy micrographies. Besides that, recently it was reported a tarsal setae exclusive of mygalomorph males, that have been considered a chemosensory setae because of it’s similarity with the one’s found in Idiops pylorus, and even with the ones found in araneomorphs, despite the contrast in disposition of the setae between the infraorders. They can be arranged densely on tarsus, similar to those setae found in the scopula (and in this case, named pseudoscopula), or be sparsely distributed on ventral tarsus among other setae types. These male setae also differ from other chemosensory ones that are widespread in both males and females of mygalomorph spiders In the present study, the pseudoscopula of a mygalomorph representative, Ischnothele annulata, was investigated through... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Resumo: As aranhas geralmente são criaturas solitárias, de pouca acuidade visual, agressivas e potenciais predadoras canibais, características que podem ter selecionado formas de comunicação à longa distância, como sinais químicos e/ou vibratórios. Os feromônios são um exemplo de sinal utilizado durante a comunicação intersexual, já tendo sido caracterizado quimicamente para onze espécies de araneomorfas. A emissão dessas substâncias é feita pelas fêmeas por meio da seda ou pela cutícula. Para sua recepção, machos de araneomorfas utilizam cerdas quimiossensoriais presentes no dorso dos palpos. Para migalomorfas, foi reportada a presença de cerdas quimiossensorias em um macho de Idiops pylorus a partir de análises de Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão. Além disso, recentemente foi reportada a presença de uma cerda tarsal exclusiva de machos de Mygalomorphae, que por sua similaridade com as encontradas em I. pylorus, e até mesmo com as cerdas quimiossensoriais encontradas em araneomorfas, também foi considerada quimiossensorial, apesar da diferença de disposição entre as duas infraordens. Elas podem estar arranjadas de forma densa (sendo chamadas pseudoescópula), ou estarem esparsamente distribuídas juntamente com outros tipos de cerda. Estas cerdas também diferem de outras sensoriais que são amplamente encontradas em machos e fêmeas de migalomorfas. No presente estudo, as cerdas da pseudoescópula de um representante de Mygalomorphae, Ischnothele annulata, foram investigadas por mei... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Mestre

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La communication chimique, c'est-à-dire le transfert d'information d'un émetteur à un receveur via signaux moléculaires, est présente dans tous les embranchements animaux. Longtemps négligée, l'étude récente de ces processus chez les oiseaux suggère que les signaux chimiques (ou ‘chémosignaux') ont une fonction beaucoup plus importante que longtemps anticipée. Les pétrels hypogés (ordre: procellariiformes) fournissent un modele approprié pour examiner ces questions. Ces oiseaux marins possèdent en effet une neuro-anatomie olfactive développée, une odeur musquée caractéristique et des traits d'histoire de vie favorisant l'évolution d'une composante olfactive aux comportements sociaux. En utilisant une combinaison de méthodes, existantes et spécifiquement développées, d'écologie comportementale, de chimie analytique et de statistique multivariées, nous avons examiné le rôle des chémosignaux dans l'écologie du pétrel bleu (Halobaena caerulea), un pétrel hypogée de l'océan Subantarctique. Nous avons ainsi démontré que la sécrétion uropygiale des pétrels bleus, leur source principale de substances chimiques exogènes, contient des informations sociales telles que l'espèce, le sexe et l'identité (i.e. une signature chimique). De plus, cette information est encore présente, de manière quasi-identique, sur le plumage des oiseaux et participe donc vraisemblablement à l'odeur des individus. En termes de perception des signaux chimiques, nous avons établi que les pétrels bleus sont capables de percevoir et distinguer entre les odeurs de différentes espèces de pétrels, ainsi qu'entre les odeurs de différents conspécifiques. Cependant, aucune capacité de discrimination olfactive intersexuelle n'a été observée. Longtemps restreinte aux comportements de recherche alimentaire et d'orientation, l'étude de l'olfaction aviaire est en pleine expansion pour désormais intégrer des aspects sociaux. Nos résultats fournissent en ce sens une première étude multidisciplinaire du sujet. La clarification de l'origine, de la nature et de la fonction de la communication chimique chez les oiseaux devrait avoir des implications éco-évolutives majeures pour la compréhension de leur biologie. / Chemical communication, the transfer of information from an emitter to a receiver via molecular signals, occurs in all animal phyla. Although such processes have been largely overlooked in birds, recent results suggest that chemical signals may play a more significant role than previously assumed in the social lives of birds. Procellariiform seabirds, and burrow-nesting petrels in particular, are appropriate models to investigate these questions. They indeed possess a well-developed olfactory anatomy, a noticeable musky scent and a life-history which favours the evolution of olfactory-mediated social behaviours (Chapter1).We have explored the role of chemical signals in the ecology of the blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea), a burrow-nesting seabird from the Subantarctic Ocean, using existing and innovative methods from field ornithology, analytical chemistry and multivariate statistics (Chapter 2). We first demonstrate that the uropygial secretions of these birds, their main source of endogenous chemical substances, contain social information including species, sex and individual identity (i.e. a chemical signature). We also show evidence that these signals are still present, in a virtually identical form, on the plumage of the birds and are thus a likely contributor to the animals' scent (Chapter 3). Furthermore, we show that blue petrels, as receivers of the sociochemical information, are able to discriminate between the odours from different species, and between the odours of different conspecifics. There is however no evidence of olfactory capabilities of sex discrimination in this species ( Chapter 4).The study of avian olfactory behaviours, historically limited to foraging and orientation (Chapter 5), is rapidly expanding to incorporate social functions. In this regard, our results provide the first multidisciplinary case-study of avian chemical communication. The elucidation of the origin, nature and function of chemical communication in birds has major eco-evolutionary implications for our understanding of avian ecology (Chapter 6).

Vários aspectos do relacionamento entre mamíferos, como pareamento sexual e relações de grupo, requerem o reconhecimento de indivíduos. Sinais químicos são fundamentais nesse contexto, pois permitem a identificação individual e sexual. Roedores são animais que apresentam um senso olfatório muito desenvolvido e o empregam em sua comunicação social. Neste trabalho foi investigada a espécie de rato-de-espinho Trinomys yonenagae, conhecido como rabo-de-facho. T. yonenagae habita o semiárido, é colonial e fossorial. É uma das espécies mais conhecidas entre os equimídeos e um elemento-chave na Área de Preservação das Dunas e Veredas do Médio São Francisco, na Caatinga. Um paradigma habituação-discriminação foi usado para investigar a capacidade de T. yonenagae discriminar odores vindos da urina de conspecíficos desconhecidos. Foram usados: a) machos como sujeitos (n = 8) e fêmeas como doadoras (n = 2); b) fêmeas como sujeitos (n = 8) e machos como doadores (n = 2); c) machos como sujeitos (n = 8) e fêmeas como doadoras do pool de urina (n = 8); d) fêmeas como sujeitos (n = 8) e machos como doadores do pool de urina (n = 8). A duração de cada sessão dos testes foi de 10min. Durante três dias consecutivos o mesmo sujeito foi exposto ao odor A de um único doador. No quarto dia (teste de discriminação), o sujeito foi exposto simultaneamente ao odor A e ao odor de um novo doador (B), e o tempo de investigação de A e B foi medido. Não houve diferença significativa para as fêmeas, tanto na habituação [Anova, F=0,82; p=0,454] quanto na discriminação [teste t de Student [t7=1,078; sig. (2-tailed)=0,317] quando o odor era individual. Porém, houve diferença estatisticamente significante [F=3,67; p=0,043] tanto na habituação, como na discriminação [t7 = 3,605; sig. (2-tailed)=0,009] quando as fêmeas investigaram o odor vindo de um pool de urina. Entre os machos, tanto no grupo de doadores individuais quanto no grupo do pool de urina houve diminuição significativa [F=6,866; p=0,005] e [F=7,42; p=0,004 (pool)] no tempo em que os animais investigavam o odor A, da primeira para a segunda e terceira habituação. Na discriminação, também houve diferença significativa [t7=4,466; sig. (2-tailed)=0,003] e [t7=3,629; sig. (2-tailed)=0,008 (pool)] sendo o odor B mais investigado do que o odor A. Os resultados indicam que Trinomys yonenagae pode discriminar odores de coespecíficos e que há diferenças entre machos e fêmeas. Essa capacidade é significativa para um roedor de pequeno porte, de vida colonial, fossorial e de baixo metabolismo / Many aspects of mammalian social relationships, such as sexual pair bonds and group relationships, require individual recognition. Chemical cues are essential in this context, because they allow individual and sexual identification. In this work, olfactory communication in the spiny rat Trinomys yonenagae, known as rabo-de-facho, was investigated. This species is colonial, fossorial and is endemic to sand dunes fields at the Área de Preservação das Dunas e Veredas do Médio São Francisco, in the arid Brazilian Caatinga. A habituation-discrimination paradigm was used in order to investigate if T. yonenagae is capable to discriminate scents from unknown conspecifics urine. The following groups were investigated: a) males as subjects (n = 8) and females as donors (n = 2); b) females as subjects (n = 8) and males as donors (n = 2); c) males as subjects (n = 8) and females as urine pool donors (n = 8); d) females as subjects (n = 8) and males as urine pool donors (n = 8). The period of each test session was 10 min. During three consecutives days the same subject was exposed to the odor of a single donor (A). At fourth day (discrimination test), the subject was exposed simultaneously to odor A and the odor of a new donor (B), and the investigation time of A and B was measured. There wasnt significant difference for females both during the habituation [Anova, F=0,82; p=0,454] and discrimination [Student t test t7=1,078; sig.(2-tailed)=0,317] tests, when the source of odor was individual. However, there were statistical differences [F=3,67; p=0,043] both at habituation and at discrimination [t7 = 3,605; sig.(2-tailed)=0,009] tests, when females investigated the odor from the urine pool. For males, both individual urine scent and urine pool tests showed significant decrease [F=6,866; p=0,005 and F=7,42; p=0,004, respectively] of the time that males spent investigating odor A, from first to second and third habituation tests. At the discrimination test, in both groups odor B was significantly more investigated than odor A [t7=4,466; sig.(2-tailed)=0,003] and [t7=3,629; sig. (2-tailed)=0,008 (pool)]. The results indicate that Trinomys yonenagae is capable of discriminating odors from conspecifics, but in this context the behavior of males and females differs. This olfactory competence is compatible with the life-style, the habitat and the low metabolic rate found in T. yonenagae

Vários aspectos do relacionamento entre mamíferos, como pareamento sexual e relações de grupo, requerem o reconhecimento de indivíduos. Sinais químicos são fundamentais nesse contexto, pois permitem a identificação individual e sexual. Roedores são animais que apresentam um senso olfatório muito desenvolvido e o empregam em sua comunicação social. Neste trabalho foi investigada a espécie de rato-de-espinho Trinomys yonenagae, conhecido como rabo-de-facho. T. yonenagae habita o semiárido, é colonial e fossorial. É uma das espécies mais conhecidas entre os equimídeos e um elemento-chave na Área de Preservação das Dunas e Veredas do Médio São Francisco, na Caatinga. Um paradigma habituação-discriminação foi usado para investigar a capacidade de T. yonenagae discriminar odores vindos da urina de conspecíficos desconhecidos. Foram usados: a) machos como sujeitos (n = 8) e fêmeas como doadoras (n = 2); b) fêmeas como sujeitos (n = 8) e machos como doadores (n = 2); c) machos como sujeitos (n = 8) e fêmeas como doadoras do pool de urina (n = 8); d) fêmeas como sujeitos (n = 8) e machos como doadores do pool de urina (n = 8). A duração de cada sessão dos testes foi de 10min. Durante três dias consecutivos o mesmo sujeito foi exposto ao odor A de um único doador. No quarto dia (teste de discriminação), o sujeito foi exposto simultaneamente ao odor A e ao odor de um novo doador (B), e o tempo de investigação de A e B foi medido. Não houve diferença significativa para as fêmeas, tanto na habituação [Anova, F=0,82; p=0,454] quanto na discriminação [teste t de Student [t7=1,078; sig. (2-tailed)=0,317] quando o odor era individual. Porém, houve diferença estatisticamente significante [F=3,67; p=0,043] tanto na habituação, como na discriminação [t7 = 3,605; sig. (2-tailed)=0,009] quando as fêmeas investigaram o odor vindo de um pool de urina. Entre os machos, tanto no grupo de doadores individuais quanto no grupo do pool de urina houve diminuição significativa [F=6,866; p=0,005] e [F=7,42; p=0,004 (pool)] no tempo em que os animais investigavam o odor A, da primeira para a segunda e terceira habituação. Na discriminação, também houve diferença significativa [t7=4,466; sig. (2-tailed)=0,003] e [t7=3,629; sig. (2-tailed)=0,008 (pool)] sendo o odor B mais investigado do que o odor A. Os resultados indicam que Trinomys yonenagae pode discriminar odores de coespecíficos e que há diferenças entre machos e fêmeas. Essa capacidade é significativa para um roedor de pequeno porte, de vida colonial, fossorial e de baixo metabolismo / Many aspects of mammalian social relationships, such as sexual pair bonds and group relationships, require individual recognition. Chemical cues are essential in this context, because they allow individual and sexual identification. In this work, olfactory communication in the spiny rat Trinomys yonenagae, known as rabo-de-facho, was investigated. This species is colonial, fossorial and is endemic to sand dunes fields at the Área de Preservação das Dunas e Veredas do Médio São Francisco, in the arid Brazilian Caatinga. A habituation-discrimination paradigm was used in order to investigate if T. yonenagae is capable to discriminate scents from unknown conspecifics urine. The following groups were investigated: a) males as subjects (n = 8) and females as donors (n = 2); b) females as subjects (n = 8) and males as donors (n = 2); c) males as subjects (n = 8) and females as urine pool donors (n = 8); d) females as subjects (n = 8) and males as urine pool donors (n = 8). The period of each test session was 10 min. During three consecutives days the same subject was exposed to the odor of a single donor (A). At fourth day (discrimination test), the subject was exposed simultaneously to odor A and the odor of a new donor (B), and the investigation time of A and B was measured. There wasnt significant difference for females both during the habituation [Anova, F=0,82; p=0,454] and discrimination [Student t test t7=1,078; sig.(2-tailed)=0,317] tests, when the source of odor was individual. However, there were statistical differences [F=3,67; p=0,043] both at habituation and at discrimination [t7 = 3,605; sig.(2-tailed)=0,009] tests, when females investigated the odor from the urine pool. For males, both individual urine scent and urine pool tests showed significant decrease [F=6,866; p=0,005 and F=7,42; p=0,004, respectively] of the time that males spent investigating odor A, from first to second and third habituation tests. At the discrimination test, in both groups odor B was significantly more investigated than odor A [t7=4,466; sig.(2-tailed)=0,003] and [t7=3,629; sig. (2-tailed)=0,008 (pool)]. The results indicate that Trinomys yonenagae is capable of discriminating odors from conspecifics, but in this context the behavior of males and females differs. This olfactory competence is compatible with the life-style, the habitat and the low metabolic rate found in T. yonenagae

Cockroaches are not considered typical plant pollinators, however, there are some exceptions to this rule. One of them is the South American species Amazonina platystylata, which is known for pollinating a dioecious shrub Clusia blattophila. This clusia is quite abundant on the Nouragues inselberg in French Guyana and is endemic there. In my research I was focused on the plant-animal communication. The aim of this thesis was to find possible behavioural response to the flower scent of clusia or to the compounds of flower scent, as clusia flowers differ in compounds of scent. Male flowers produce acetoin as a major compound. This compound is also found in female flowers but only at lower levels and in the first night of flowering. When acetoin was added to two days old female flowers, the amount of cockroaches' visits in such flowers increased to the same level as observed on male flowers. Until now there were no records about biology of this cockroach species and neither was morphology of their glands described. I have found out that both males and females of A. platystylata have tergal modification on the 7th to 8th tergite; a modification that could be connected to their glands. Evaporation plate on the first tergal shield in A. platystylata is described in this thesis for the first time. Key...

Fertilization is a multiple step process leading to fusion of female and male gametes resulting in a formation of a zygote. Besides direct gamete interaction via binding receptors localized on both oocyte and sperm surface, fertilization also involves communication based on chemical molecules triggering various signalling pathways. This work is aimed to characterize chemical communication of gametes of a model organism Mus musculus. For this purpose, modern proteomic and visualisation methods like nano-liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-MS/MS), selected reaction monitoring (SRM) and immunofluorescent microscopy were used. Lipocalins were identified as candidate proteins involved in communication including those from major urinary proteins (MUPs), LCN lipocalins and fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs). For the first time, we report their presence in the sperm acrosome. Based on lipocalins capacity to bind and transport other molecules, we propose that these proteins have a protective and/or signalling role for gametes. Furthermore, chemical communication between sperm and oocyte is based on chemotaxis which enables their interaction before their fusion. In this work, we detected that spermatozoa show chemotactic responses in the presence of L-glutamate. This amino acid naturally...

Previous work has shown that mate choice is in part affected by cues associated with quality and condition of potential mate. These cues could be based on visual characteristics or as shown recently on chemical cues. There is growing evidence which suggest that body odour plays relatively significant role in mate choice. Moreover, body odour is to some extent affected by ingested diet. Therefore, we focused on the effect of caloric restriction and garlic consumption on axilary odour. Our results suggest that restoration of food intake improve body odour in terms of pleasantness and attractiveness (probably as a consequence of recommended specific diet), but during caloric restriction it is rated lower. The garlic consumption improves hedonic assessment of body odour. This effect could be ascribed to his well-known health effects. Our findings thus confirm assumption that ingested diet affects body odour and these changes in odour attractiveness could serve as a cue to individual condition and quality.

Natural products chemistry is the pursuit of bioactive small molecules from living organisms. These can be classified as primary metabolites if they are essential to survival, and secondary metabolites if they are accessory, playing a role in communication, defense, recruitment, etc.. Natural products have made a significant contribution to society – of 1,881 FDA-approved drugs from 1981 to 2019, 4% were pure natural products, 19% were natural products derived, and 3% were synthetic drugs with a natural products pharmacophore targeting a wide range of diseases and infections (Newman & Cragg, 2020). Pharmacophores are structural components of drugs that are responsible for the observed biological activity. Natural products often contain unique pharmacophores that exhibit potent bioactivity, thereby serving as inspiration for synthetic chemists to manufacture exciting new drug leads. Bacteria are ubiquitous in the environment. Marine bacteria are a prolific source of chemically diverse natural products due to the high biodiversity and competition in the marine environment. In 2018, 240 new marine natural products were reported in the literature from bacteria (Carroll et al., 2020). It is hypothesized that secondary metabolites offer an advantage to the producer, however, the roles that natural products play in their environment are not as well characterized. These pursuits are classified as chemical ecology. Throughout my thesis, I aim to identify the bacteria present from these environments and begin to understand the ecological role small molecules play in their environment. Staphylococcus aureus is notorious for causing chronic infections and resisting therapeutic treatment by forming biofilms. Biofilms are extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrices containing bacteria that attach to biotic and abiotic surfaces. The EPS matrix provides a refuge and anchorage to a surface, allowing biofilm inhabitants to be shielded from full strength of therapeutic treatments leading to resistance. Variovorax paradoxus is a gram-negative bacteria that also produces biofilms. It has been previously reported that V. paradoxus inhibits S. aureus biofilm formation. Preliminary data suggests V. paradoxus produces a small molecule that has biofilm inhibition activity. My work focuses on characterizing a GLP and another secondary metabolite produced by V. paradoxus that inhibits S. aureus biofilms through both molecular biology and natural products chemistry. Caulerpa spp. is a macroalgae native to tropical and subtropical oceans. Due to global warming, the temperature of oceans continues to rise, allowing Caulerpa spp. to inhabit higher latitudes. It has been hypothesized that successful invasion occurs by outcompeting native organisms via exerting adverse effects on the surrounding environment. The secondary metabolites of this algae are well characterized however their ecological role is hardly characterized. We hypothesize that Caulerpa spp. could be chemically mediating its surface microbiome by recruiting a higher percentage of Vibrio spp.. Vibrio spp. are known pathogens to humans and marine organisms by causing infections and forming biofilms. My goal was to identify a panel of culturable Caulerpa spp. surface-associated bacteria through molecular and microbiology methods. Microalgae are an exciting alternative source of biofuels. However, microalgae are grown in open algal ponds which are susceptible to crashing causing the total loss of an algal crop. Pond crashes are caused by a number of factors, one of which is contamination by unwanted pests such as protozoans and fungi. Previous studies focused on the use of bacterial communities as a built-in biocontrol to inhibit pests from causing algal pond crashes. Preliminary data demonstrated the addition of a bacterial community protected the microalgae Microchloropsis salina from grazing by the marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis (Fisher et al., 2019). My work focuses on analyzing the composition of the protective bacterial community added to the microalgae that have been size filtered to observe bacterial association with algae, rotifers, or free-floating. M. salina cultures in the presence and absence of B. plicatilis were analyzed for the identification of protective bacterial species that were algae-, rotifer-associated, or free-floating. This work has been submitted to the journal Algal Research and is under review (Fisher et al., 2022). Bacteria play a significant role in their environment. The identification of bacterial species and the role their suite of small molecules play is crucial to fully characterizing the observed interactions. My thesis surveys several means of bacterial community analysis through identification and small molecule characterization.