Foraging parasitoids use chemical signals in host recognition and selection processes. Thereby, chemicals from the herbivore hosts play a crucial role. When different herbivores are present in the same plant or field, the perception of specific volatiles and contact compounds emitted from the host itself enable the parasitoids both to differentiate between hosts and non-hosts and to estimate the health status of its host. During the host feeding process, contact between the parasitoid and its host is very crucial, and oral secretions from the host play a key role during the first contact for such evaluation by the parasitoid. Using an integration of behavioral observations, biochemical and sensory physiological approaches we demonstrate that female parasitoids of Cotesia flavipes recognize their host and oviposit in reaction to an α-amylase, which is present in the oral secretions of the larvae of their host, Chilo partellus. This activity was also mediated by a purified α-amylase synthetized from Drosophila melanogaster. Using this synthetized enzyme, we further demonstrate that the conformation of the enzyme rather than its catalytic site is responsible for this activity. This enzyme is activating gustatory neurons of the terminal antennal sensilla chaetica of C. flavipes females. α-amylases are therefore good candidates for an evolutionary solution to host selection in parasitoids, thus opening new avenues for investigations in hosts-parasitoids interactions.

The use of salivary α-amylase as an evolutionary solution to host selection in parasitoids