Reinvestigation of the sex pheromone of the wild silkmoth bombyx mandarina: The effects of bombykal and bombykyl acetate

Takaaki Daimon, Takeshi Fujii, Tsuguru Fujii, Takeshi Yokoyama, Susumu Katsuma, Tetsuro Shinoda, Toru Shimada, Yukio Ishikawa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sex pheromone investigations of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), helped elucidate the molecular and physiological fundamentals of chemical communication in moths, yet little is known about pheromone evolution in bombycid species. Therefore, we reexamined the sex pheromone communication in the wild silkmoth, Bombyx mandarina, which is considered ancestral to B. mori. Our investigations revealed that (a) B. mandarina females produce (E,Z)-10,12-hexadecadienol (bombykol), but not (E,Z)-10,12-hexadecadienal (bombykal) or (E,Z)-10,12-hexadecadienyl acetate (bombykyl acetate), which are pheromone components in other bombycid moths; (b) antennae of male B. mandarina respond strongly to bombykol as well as to bombykal and bombykyl acetate; and (c) bombykal and bombykyl acetate strongly inhibit attraction of B. mandarina males to bombykol in the field. The present study clarifies the evolution of pheromone communication in bombycid moths.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1031-1035
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Chemical Ecology
Volume38
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2012
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Biochemistry

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