Chemical sensing in spiders

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Gabriele Beate Uhl
• Subject Area: Systematics and Morphology (Zoology)
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 451487045

The chemical sense plays a pivotal role in all living beings. It is used to recognize and differentiate between chemicals that emanate from resources, from conspecifics or heterospecifics. In arthropods, sensing of all modalities other than vision is performed with modified cuticular sensilla and there are specific sensilla for gustation e.g. (tippore) and olfaction (e.g. wall-pore). In spiders, there is clear evidence for gustation with tip-pore sensilla, however, wall-pore sensilla seem to be absent. Therefore, how spiders smell has remained a conundrum – despite a large body of behavioural evidence for olfaction. To explore the Wheres and Hows of spiders chemical sensing we focus on the wasp spider Argiope bruennichi, for which we have a sensilla map for all body appendages, know the volatile sex pheromone and can draw on a large body of knowledge on the species’ mating behaviour. The sensilla on walking legs and pedipalps will be explored as to differences in ultrastructure and physiologicalresponse to gustatory or olfactory signals. The in-depth study on structure and function will be complemented by an exploration of the spider chemosensory receptors and visualisation of receptor gene expression in close collaboration with the Pheromone Group in Lund. We will perform a comparative analysis using six additional species from the spider tree of life to explore the uniformity or diversity of chemosensory sensilla in spiders. Our overall aim is a comprehensive contribution to our understanding of the structure, function and evolution of chemosensory organs within spiders and arthropods.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants