Sex pheromone biosynthesis, storage and release in a female moth: making a little go a long way.

ABSTRACT: Moth pheromone research has pioneered much of our understanding of long-distance chemical communication. Two important characteristics of this communication have, however, remained largely unaddressed: the release of small quantities of pheromone by most moth species, despite potential advantages of releasing greater amounts, and the intermittency of release in some species, limiting the time of mate attraction. We addressed the proximate mechanisms underlying these characteristics by manipulating biosynthesis, storage and release of pheromone in females of the noctuid moth Chloridea virescens. We found that (i) mass release is determined by pheromone mass on the gland surface; (ii) amounts synthesized are limited by pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide concentration, not

SUBMITTER: Foster SP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7779519 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature