Multi-functional roles of a soldier-specific volatile as a worker arrestant, primer pheromone and an antimicrobial agent in a termite.

ABSTRACT: Division of labour in eusocial insects is characterized by efficient communication systems based on pheromones. Among such insects, termites have evolved specialized sterile defenders, called soldiers. Because they are incapable of feeding themselves, it has been suggested that soldiers are sustained by workers and emit the pheromone arresting workers. However, such a soldier pheromone has not been identified in any termite species, and the details of the soldier-worker interaction remain to be explored. Here, we identified a soldier-specific volatile sesquiterpene as a worker arrestant, which also acts as a primer pheromone regulating soldier differentiation and fungistatic agent in a termite Reticulitermes speratus Chemical analyses revealed that (-)-β-elemene is the major component of s

SUBMITTER: Mitaka Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5543234 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature