Title

(R)-Desmolactone. A Female-produced Sex Pheromone Component of the Cerambycid Beetle, Desmocerus Califoricus (Subfamily Lepturinae)

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Chemical Ecology

ISSN

1573-1561

Volume

38

Issue

2

First Page

157

167

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

We report the identification, synthesis, and field bioassays of a female-produced sex attractant pheromone for the cerambycid beetle Desmocerus californicus californicus Horn. Headspace volatiles from females contained a sex-specific compound, (R)-desmolactone [(4R,9Z)-hexadec-9-en-4-olide], which elicited strong responses from the antennae of adult males in coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram analyses. Short syntheses of both enantiomers were developed from commercial chiral synthons. In field bioassays, significant numbers of males were collected in traps baited with (R)-desmolactone, whereas the (S)-enantiomer attracted no males. The racemate was less attractive than the pure (R)-enantiomer, indicating some degree of antagonism by the unnatural enantiomer. This compound is the first example of a new structural class of cerambycid pheromones, and is the second pheromone identified for a species in the subfamily Lepturinae.

Publication Information

Ray, A. M., Swift, I. P., McElfresh, J. S., Alten, R. L., & Millar, J. G. (2012). (R)-Desmolactone. A female-produced sex pheromone component of the cerambycid beetle, Desmocerus califoricus (subfamily Lepturinae). Journal of Chemical Ecology, 38(2), 157-167.

Comments

See publication information for additional authors.

Link to Full Text

Off-Campus Xavier Users

Share

COinS