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Updated: May 5, 2026
Author Spotlight: Examining Volatile Sex Pheromone Influence on Male C. elegans Behavior
Published on: August 9, 2024
(R (*),S (*))-5-hydroxy-4-methyl-3-heptanone male-produced aggregation pheromone ofSitophilus oryzae (L.) andS.
J K Phillips1, C A Walgenbach, J A Klein
1Stored Products and Household Insects Laboratory ARS-USDA, Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 53706, Madison, Wisconsin.
Abstract:
A male-produced aggregation pheromone, common to the rice weevil,Sitophilus oryzae, and the maize weevil,S. zeamais, was isolated and identified from hexane extracts of highly absorbent paper disks exposed individually to young virgin male weevils. A combination of preparative column and gas-liquid chromatography of disk extracts yielded purified natural pheromone. When analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the structure of the natural pheromone, "sitophilure," proved to be (R (*),S (*))-5-hydroxy-4-methyl-3-heptanone, of unknown enantiomeric composition. Synthetic racemic pheromone was highly attractive to males and females of both rice and maize weevils. In addition, both sexes of the granary weevil,S. granarius (L.) were attracted to the racemic preparation.
