ArticleScientific reports2022
Experimental evidence challenges the presumed defensive function of a "slow toxin" in cycads.
Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Chemical ecology of symbioses in cycads, an ancient plant lineage.The New phytologist · 2025Review
- A semiochemical view of the ecology of the seed beetleThe Annals of applied biology · 2024Review
- Gut microbiomes of cycad-feeding insects tolerant to β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) are rich in siderophore biosynthesis.ISME communications · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
[Formula: see text]-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is a neurotoxic non-protein amino acid found in the tissues of cycad plants. The demonstrated toxicity of BMAA to diverse organisms, including humans, is widely assumed to imply a defensive function of BMAA against herbivores; however, this hypothesis has not previously been tested in an ecologically relevant system. We investigated the effects of dietary BMAA, across a range of dosages matching and exceeding levels typically present in cycad leaves, on the feeding preferences and performance of a generalist lepidopteran herbivore (Spodoptera littoralis).We observed no effects of dietary BMAA on the survival or development of S. littoralis larvae, nor any larval preference between BMAA-laced and control diets. These findings suggest that BMAA in cycad tissues does not deter feeding by insect herbivores, raising questions about other potential physiological or ecological functions of this compound.
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