Cuticular hydrocarbons suggest three lineages in Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) from North America

Page, Michael Le; Nelson, Lori J.; Forschler, Brian T.; Haverty, Michael I.

doi:10.1016/s1096-4959(01)00466-3

Cited by 37 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Confirmation of this can be found in the literature [4,8,10,11]. The mechanism causing the difference in the compositions of cuticular hydrocarbons is probably the biosynthetic system.…”

supporting

confidence: 68%

Caste and Population Specificity of Termite Cuticule Hydrocarbons

2005

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The composition of hydrocarbons from the termites Reticulitermes lucifugus Rossi and Kalotermes flavicollis Fabr. belonging to different castes and populations was determined using GC and mass spectrometry. The role of cuticular hydrocarbons in olfactory recognition of termite caste and population status was demonstrated.Insect cuticular hydrocarbons play an exceptionally important role in their lives. They are a component part of the insect exoskeleton and determine many of its properties [1]. Much attention is directed toward the role of cuticular hydrocarbons in insect behavior. Cuticular hydrocarbons are especially significant in social insects [2][3][4], which distinctly differentiate the caste and gender status of individuals [5]. Since the majority of social insects, and termites in particular, live in soil or wood, chemical communication among them is of utmost importance [6]. The nests and tubules of termites are enclosed and their volume is relatively small. Under such conditions, chemical signals should have the ability to transfer large quantities of information and should be relatively involatile in order to decrease the noise levels of information transfer so that the chemicalcommunication system operates effectively. Therefore, termite cuticular hydrocarbons should play an important role in olfactory recognition of the caste, population, and species status of individuals [3, 7-9].The composition of cuticular hydrocarbons of Kalotermes flavicollis Fabr. and Reticulitermes lucifugus Rossi was determined by GC and GC-MS (Tables 1 and 2). The structures of all compounds were established using analytical GC and mass spectrometry. The cuticular hydrocarbons of the studied termite species belong to five classes: normal alkanes, mono-and dimethylalkanes, and mono-and dienes. The hydrocarbon composition of these termite species has much in common and is similar to that of cuticular hydrocarbons of other species [7].We found that the cuticular hydrocarbons of both termite species contained the same set of hydrocarbons for all castes. However, they differed greatly in the quantitative ratios of both pure components and hydrocarbon classes ( Table 3).Analysis of the composition of R. lucifugus cuticular hydrocarbons from various populations showed that termites of all populations also contain qualitatively identical components whereas the quantitative ratios of them, like for termites of different castes, differ (Table 4). The differences in the ratios of different clases are greatest for termites of the Ai-Dere and Magri populations.Our investigation confirms the existence of caste and population specificity for cuticular hydrocarbons of R. lucifugus. The observed differences in the compositions of cuticular hydrocarbons may be the basis for olfactory recognition of the caste and population status of individuals.In order to prove that the specificity of cuticular hydrocarbons is the basis of olfactory recognition of the caste and population status of individuals, we used the recognition reaction of termites f...

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“…Confirmation of this can be found in the literature [4,8,10,11]. The mechanism causing the difference in the compositions of cuticular hydrocarbons is probably the biosynthetic system.…”

supporting

confidence: 68%

Caste and Population Specificity of Termite Cuticule Hydrocarbons

2005

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“…Studies on social insects have shown that subtle quantitative differences in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles can be detected by analyzing chemical data with multivariate statistical methods. By this approach, cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of social insects have been shown to be species-(e.g., Kaib et al, 1991;Page et al, 2002), caste-(e.g., Bagnères et al, 1990;Klochkov et al, 2005), and colony-specific (e.g., Butts et al, 1995;Lorenzi et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Courtship Pheromones in Parasitic Wasps: Comparison of Bioactive and Inactive Hydrocarbon Profiles by Multivariate Statistical Methods

2007

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Cuticular hydrocarbons play a significant role in the regulation of cuticular permeability and also in the chemical communication of insects. In the parasitoid Lariophagus distinguendus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), male courtship behavior is mediated by a female-produced sex pheromone. Previous studies have shown that the chemicals involved are already present in the pupal stage of both males and females. However, pheromonal activity in males decreases shortly after emergence. This pheromonal deactivation occurs only in living males, suggesting an active process rather than simple evaporation of bioactive compounds. Here, we present evidence that the sex pheromone of L. distinguendus is composed of a series of cuticular hydrocarbons. Filter paper disks treated with nonpolar fractions of cuticular extracts of freshly emerged males and females, 72-hr-old females, and yellowish pupae caused arrestment and stimulated key elements of courtship behavior in males, whereas fractions of 72-hr-old males did not. Sixty-four hydrocarbons with chain length between C 25 and C 37 were identified in the fractions by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Methyl-branched alkanes with one to four methyl groups were major components, along with traces of n-alkanes and monoalkenes. Principal component analysis, based on the relative amounts of the compounds, revealed that cuticular hydrocarbon composition differed among all five groups. By using partial least squares-discriminant analysis, we determined a series of components that differentiate bioactive and bioinactive hydrocarbon profiles, and may be responsible for pheromonal activity of hydrocarbon fractions in L. distinguendus.

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“…Blomquist and Bagnères 2010;Howard and Blomquist 2005;Lockey 1985 and literature therein), comprising n-alkanes, mono-, di-, tri-and tetramethyl-branched alkanes (Blomquist 2010), unsaturated hydrocarbons with 1-5 double-bonds (e.g. Page et al 2002;Steiger et al 2007), methyl-branched olefins (e.g. Blomquist 2010;SF Geiselhardt et al 2009) and in a few cases non-hydrocarbon components, such as esters, aldehydes, ketones or alcohols (Buckner 2010; for details on the composition see Online Resource 1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Congruence of epicuticular hydrocarbons and tarsal secretions as a principle in beetles

Geiselhardt

Peschke

2011

Chemoecology

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Within beetles, those species that are adapted to life on plants have developed widened tarsi with specialised hairy attachment structures. The capability to adhere to smooth surfaces is based on a liquid film on the surface of these structures, the composition of which is similar to the cuticular lipids. By means of a cluster analysis based on chemical similarities between samples obtained from tarsi or elytra of 35 species using solid phase microextraction, the present study strongly suggests that this chemical congruence is a principle in beetles. This supports the idea of tarsal liquids being part of the cuticular lipid layer and contributes to the understanding of liquid-mediated attachment systems.

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Cuticular hydrocarbons suggest three lineages in Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) from North America

Cited by 37 publications

References 40 publications

Caste and Population Specificity of Termite Cuticule Hydrocarbons

Caste and Population Specificity of Termite Cuticule Hydrocarbons

Courtship Pheromones in Parasitic Wasps: Comparison of Bioactive and Inactive Hydrocarbon Profiles by Multivariate Statistical Methods

Congruence of epicuticular hydrocarbons and tarsal secretions as a principle in beetles

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