Search results for " pheromone"
showing 10 items of 164 documents
Sex pheromones and trail-following pheromone in the basal termites Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen) and Z. angusticollis (Hagen) (Isoptera: Termopsida…
2010
In the context of an evolutionary study of the chemical communication in termites, sex pheromones and trail-following pheromones were investigated in two Termopsidae, Zootermopsis nevadensis and Z. angusticollis. In these species, in which the presence of sex-specific pheromones has been demonstrated previously, the chemical structure of the female sex pheromone has now been identified as (5E)-2,6,10-trimethylundeca-5,9-dienal and the male sex pheromone as (+)- or (-)-syn-4,6-dimethyldodecanal. The amount of sex pheromone was estimated at 5-10 ng per individual in females and 2-5 ng in males. Because these two sympatric species do not differ in their pheromonal chemical composition, reprodu…
Could male tergal secretions be considered as a nuptial gift in the Madeira cockroach?
2008
International audience; Many male insects provide somatic nuptial gifts that may strongly influence reproductive fitness, ensuring effective copulation or mediating paternal resource benefits in offspring. Although the courtship feeding behaviour on tergal gland secretions has been described in numerous cockroaches, studies on the function of these so-called nuptial gifts are lacking in this group. In this study, we examined, in the Madeira cockroach, Leucophaea maderae, the functional significance of tergal secretions by manipulating their availability on the back of males. We tested whether male tergal secretions function as a form of mating effort, and/or as a form of paternal investment…
Calling behaviour of female Periplaneta americana: Behavioural analysis and identification of the pheromone source
1993
Abstract The site for the production of Periplanone B, one of the components of the female sex pheromone of Periplaneta americana , was localized in glands situated in the genital atrium, and we have called these structures atrial glands. While emitting the sex pheromone, females adopt a characteristic calling posture during which time the atrial glands are exposed. Behavioural assays of males utilizing pentane extracts of various female body parts revealed that atrial gland extracts are highly attractive, and induced more wing-raising behaviour, than any other female body part. GC-MS analyses support these results by revealing that Periplanone B is only present in the atrial glands. We est…
Is mate choice in Drosophila males guided by olfactory or gustatory pheromones ?
2010
International audience; Drosophila melanogaster flies use both olfactory and taste systems to detect sex pheromones and select the most suitable mate for reproduction. In nature, flies often face multiple potential partners and should have an acute sensory ability to discriminate between different pheromonal bouquets. We investigated both the pheromones and the chemosensory neurons influencing Drosophila mate choice. We measured various courtship traits in single tester males simultaneously presented with two target male and/or female flies carrying different pheromonal bouquets (pairs of control flies of the same or different sex, same-sex target pairs of pheromonal variant strains). The c…
Spontaneous brain processing of the mammary pheromone in rabbit neonates prior to milk intake.
2016
International audience; Chemical signals play a critical role in interindividual communication, including mother-young relationships. Detecting odor cues released by the mammary area is vital to the newborn's survival. European rabbit females secret a mammary pheromone (MP) in their milk, which releases sucking related orocephalic movements in newborns. Pups spontaneously display these typical movements at birth, independently of any perinatal learning. Our previous Fos mapping study (Charra et al., 2012) performed in 4-day-old rabbits showed that the MP activated a network of brain regions involved in osmoregulation, odor processing and arousal in comparison with a control odor. However, a…
Pre-imaginal conditioning alters adult sex pheromone response in Drosophila
2018
https://peerj.com/articles/5585/#supplemental-information; International audience; Pheromones are chemical signals that induce innate responses in individuals of the same species that may vary with physiological and developmental state. In Drosophila melanogaster, the most intensively studied pheromone is 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), which is synthezised in the male ejaculatory bulb and is transferred to the female during copulation. Among other effects, cVA inhibits male courtship of mated females. We found that male courtship inhibition depends on the amount of cVA and this effect is reduced in male flies derived from eggs covered with low to zero levels of cVA. This effect is not obser…
Drosophila Food-Associated Pheromones: Effect of Experience, Genotype and Antibiotics on Larval Behavior
2016
International audience; Animals ubiquitously use chemical signals to communicate many aspects of their social life. These chemical signals often consist of environmental cues mixed with species-specific signals-pheromones-emitted by conspecifics. During their life, insects can use pheromones to aggregate, disperse, choose a mate, or find the most suitable food source on which to lay eggs. Before pupariation, larvae of several Drosophila species migrate to food sources depending on their composition and the presence of pheromones. Some pheromones derive from microbiota gut activity and these food-associated cues can enhance larval attraction or repulsion. To explore the mechanisms underlying…
Odorant Metabolism Analysis by an Automated Ex Vivo Headspace Gas-Chromatography Method
2015
International audience; In the olfactory epithelium (OE), odorant metabolizing enzymes have the dual function of volatile component detoxification and active clearance of odorants from the perireceptor environment to respectively maintain the integrity of the tissues and the sensitivity of the detection. Although emphasized by recent studies, this enzymatic mechanism is poorly documented in mammals. Thus, olfactory metabolism has been characterized mainly in vitro and for a limited number of odorants. The automated ex vivo headspace gas-chromatography method that was developed here was validated to account for odorant olfactory metabolism. This method easily permits the measurement of the f…
Synthesis of disparlure and monachalure enantiomers from 2,3-butanediacetals
2020
2,3-Butanediacetal derivatives were used for the stereoselective synthesis of unsymmetrically substituted cis-epoxides. The procedure was applied for the preparation of both enantiomers of disparlure and monachalure, the components of the sex pheromones of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and the nun moth (Lymantria monacha) using methyl (2S,3R,5R,6R)-3-ethylsulfanylcarbonyl-5,6-dimethoxy-5,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxane-2-carboxylate as the starting material.
The influence of smoke volatiles on sexual maturation and juvenile hormone biosynthesis in the black army cutworm, Actebia fennica (Lepidoptera: Noct…
2000
0965-1748 (Print) Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Outbreaks of the black army cutworm, Actebia fennica, are associated with recently burned sites, where larvae feed on early successional plants. In the present paper we show that smoke volatiles stimulate juvenile hormone biosynthesis in virgin females, resulting in a more rapid rate of oocyte maturation and a significant advance in the age of first calling (the release of the sex pheromone) compared to control females. The ecological implications of this physiological effect are discussed.