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Chemical alarm in the termite Termitogeton planus (Rhinotermitidae)

SYSNO ASEP	0438410
Document Type	J - Journal Article
R&D Document Type	Journal Article
Subsidiary J	Článek ve WOS
Title	Chemical alarm in the termite Termitogeton planus (Rhinotermitidae)
Author(s)	Dolejšová, Klára (UOCHB-X)_RID Krasulová, Jana (UOCHB-X)_RID Kutalová, K. (CZ) Hanus, Robert (UOCHB-X)_{RID, ORCID}
Number of authors	4
Source Title	Journal of Chemical Ecology. - : Springer - ISSN 0098-0331 Roč. 40, 11/12 (2014), s. 1269-1276
Number of pages	8 s.
Language	eng - English
Country	US - United States
Keywords	termites ; soldiers ; frontal gland ; alarm pheromone ; Rhinotermitidae ; Termitogeton
Subject RIV	CC - Organic Chemistry
R&D Projects	GAP506/10/1570 GA ČR - Czech Science Foundation (CSF)
Institutional support	UOCHB-X - RVO:61388963
UT WOS	000346638200015
EID SCOPUS	84919492369
DOI	10.1007/s10886-014-0515-0
Annotation	Effective defense is a common characteristic of insect societies. Indeed, the occurrence of specialized defenders, soldiers, has been the first step toward eusociality in several independent lineages, including termites. Among the multitude of defensive strategies used by termite soldiers, defense by chemicals plays a crucial role. It has evolved with complexity in advanced isopteran lineages, whose soldiers are equipped with a unique defensive organ, the frontal gland. Besides direct defense against predators, competitors, and pathogens, the chemicals emitted by soldiers from the frontal gland are used as signals of alarm. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition of the defensive secretion produced by soldiers of the termite Termitogeton planus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), from West Papua, and the effects of this secretion on the behavior of termite groups. Detailed two-dimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses of the soldier defensive secretion revealed the presence of four linear and nine monoterpene hydrocarbons. Soldier head extracts, as well as synthetic mixtures of the monoterpenes found in these extracts, elicited alarm behavior in both soldiers and pseudergates. Our results suggest that the alarm is not triggered by a single monoterpene from the defensive blend, but by a multi-component signal combining quantitatively major and minor compounds.
Workplace	Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry
Contact	asep@uochb.cas.cz ; Kateřina Šperková, Tel.: 232 002 584 ; Viktorie Chládková, Tel.: 232 002 434
Year of Publishing	2015

Number of the records: 1