Re: Pitohui poison: from beetles?

[Dino Guy Ralph <ralph.miller@alumni.usc.edu>]

Here's more on the Pitohui poison research:

STORIES ABOUT JACK DUMBACHER'S RESEARCH

> From the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences web site:
Origin of a Natural Poison
A potential dietary source for the toxins found in poison-dart frogs and 
passerine birds has been identified. Jack Dumbacher from the California 
Academy of Sciences and colleagues found deadly batrachotoxins in Melyrid 
beetles of New Guinea. These beetles are eaten by birds, which accumulate 
the toxins in their skins. Neither birds nor frogs appear to produce the 
toxins by themselves and are assumed to obtain them through diet. 
Batrachotoxins, which are more potent than curare, are a defense mechanism 
against parasites and predators. Acting on the suggestions of local New 
Guinean naturalists, the team investigated Melyrid beetles of the genus 
Choresine as a potential toxin source. Contact with these beetles is known 
to cause facial irritation. Their laboratory tests showed that the small 
beetles are a highly concentrated source of several types of batrachotoxins. 
Closely related Choresine beetles were also found digested in one of the New 
Guinean birds. The team suggests that Choresine beetles are the most likely 
source of the toxin in New Guinean birds, and relatives in the family 
Melyridae may similarly supply Colombian frogs. Read a report here: 
http://www.pnas.org/misc/highlights.shtml#HL5

> From Science Magazine's Science Now Web feature:
Toxic Bugs
Melyrid beetles may be the long-sought source of neurotoxins in the skins of 
poisonous birds and frogs, according to a new paper in the Proceedings of 
the National Academy of Sciences. In New Guinea, the beetles and Pitohui and 
Ifrita birds share the name "nanisani" because they cause numbness when 
handled. Taking a cue from this link, the researchers found batrachotoxins 
in these beetles, which they suspect are eaten by the birds as well as by 
Colombian poison-dart frogs that have similar toxins in their skin. View 
story here: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/

The journal Nature will run an article about Jack's research in the "News 
and Views" section of this week's journal, which will come out on Thursday.

New Scientist will run an article about Jack's research next week (the new 
issue comes out on Wednesday).

Science News will also run an article about Jack's research next week (the 
new issue comes out on Saturday).

Dave Perlman from the San Francisco Chronicle has written an article that 
will run sometime in the next week.

Chemistry World and Chemical and Engineering News will both cover Jack's 
research in upcoming issues.

The German news organization, Wissenschaft, ran a story about Jack's 
research yesterday.

--------
"Dino Guy" Ralph W. Miller III
Docent at the California Academy of Sciences
proud member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology