Search results for "Zootermopsis"
showing 8 items of 8 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…
Pheromones and Chemical Ecology of Dispersal and Foraging in Termites
2010
Pheromones play a crucial role in the ecology of dispersal and foraging in termites. Sex-pairing pheromones possess a double role of long-range attraction to unite sexual partners and a short-range or contact attraction to maintain the pair during the tandem behaviour. Sex-pairing pheromones most often comprise a single compound capable of eliciting both behavioural effects. They appear very conservative in their evolution, and their role in the reproductive isolation of sympatric species greatly varies according to species. Species-specific sex-pairing pheromones consist of different major compounds or of a common major compound with species-specific minor components. Foraging is a collect…
Degradation of dimeric lignin model compounds by aerobic bacteria isolated from the hindgut of xylophagous termites.
1997
The capability of the intestinal flora from the gut of xylophagous termites of degrading lignin model compounds was investigated. Different dimeric lignin model compounds-degrading bacteria were obtained from the hindgut flora of Mastotermes darwiniensis FROGGATT, Reticulitermes santonensis FEYTAUD, Nasutitermes nigriceps HALDEMAN and Zootermopsis angusticollis HAGEN. In the presence of oxygen dimeric model compounds were degraded by all isolates. This indicates that the hindgut flora of termites is basically able to produce substrate for their host from aromatic extractives of wood.
Synthesis of syn-4,6-dimethyldodecanal, the male sex pheromone and trail-following pheromone of two species of the termite Zootermopsis.
2011
Recently, we reported that syn-4,6-dimethyldodecanal is the male sex pheromone and the trail-following pheromone of the Termopsidae Zootermopsis nevadensis and Zootermopsis angusticollis. In this article, we describe the syntheses of the mixture of the four stereoisomers of 4,6-dimethyldodecanal using a synthetic pathway where the key step is a Wittig reaction between methyl 4-methyl-5-oxo-pentanoate and 1-methylheptyl-triphenylphosphonium iodide, and of (±)-syn-4,6-dimethyldodecanal starting from 3,5-dimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one. Direct GC–MS comparison of these synthetic samples with the natural pheromone allowed its unambiguous identification.
Aerobic and facultatively anaerobic cellulolytic bacteria from the gut of the termite Zootermopsis angusticollis.
2002
Aims: To demonstrate the occurrence of cellulolytic bacteria in the termite Zootermopsis angusticollis. Methods and Results: Applying aerobic cultivation conditions we isolated 119 cellulolytic strains from the gut of Z. angusticollis, which were assigned to 23 groups of aerobic, facultatively anaerobic or microaerophilic cellulolytic bacteria. 16S rDNA restriction fragment pattern and partial 16S rDNA sequence analysis, as well as numerical taxonomy, were used for the assignment of the isolates. The Gram-positive bacteria of the actinomycetes branch could be assigned to the order Actinomycetales including the genera Cellulomonas/Oerskovia, Microbacterium and Kocuria. The Gram-positive bact…
Chemical communication in termites: syn-4,6-Dimethylundecan-1-ol as 3 trail-following pheromone, syn-4,6-dimethylundecanal and 4 (5E)-2,6,10-trimethy…
2011
The trail-following pheromone and sex pheromones were investigated in the Indomalayan termite Hodotermopsis sjoestedti belonging to the new family Archotermopsidae. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after solid phase microextraction (SPME) of the sternal gland secretion of pseudergates and trail-following bioassays demonstrated that the trailfollowing pheromone of H. sjoestedti was syn-4,6-dimethylundecan-1-ol, a new chemical structure for termite pheromones. GC-MS after SPME of the sternal gland secretion of alates also allowed the identification of sex-specific compounds. In female alates, the major sex-specific compound was identified as (5E)-2,6,10-trimethylundeca-…
The Intestinal Yeasts
2005
Yeast isolates were obtained from the hindgut of the lower termites Mastotermis darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae), Zootermopsis angusticollis, Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hodotermitidae), Neotermes jouteli (Kalotermitidae), Reticulitermes santonensis, Heterotermes indicola (Rhinotermitidae) and the roach Cryptocercus punctulatus (Prillinger et al. 1996). The monosaccharide composition of the cell wall, the ubiquinone system, partial sequencing of 18S ribosomal DNA and the ultrastructure of septal pores indicate that most yeast species belonged to the Endomycetales. They were assigned to the genera Candida, Debaryomyces, Pichia and Sporothrix. Other species showed affinities to the Basidiomycetes …
The fine structure of colleterial glands in two cockroaches and three termites, including a detailed study of Cryptocercus punctulatus (Blattaria, Cr…
2007
1873-5495 (Electronic) Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; The colleterial glands of insects are organs associated with the female genital apparatus. In cockroaches, these glands produce secretions that cover two parallel rows of eggs during oviposition, and in oviparous species, these secretions become the tanned, sculpted, rigid outer casing of the ootheca. The goal of this study was to compare the gross anatomy of the colleterial glands and the ultrastructure of their component tubules in the phylogenetically significant genera Cryptocercus (Blattaria) and Mastotermes (Isoptera). Recent studies indicate that cockroaches in the genus Cryptocercus are the sister group…