Sexual communication in the termite Prorhinotermes simplex (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) mediated by a pheromone from female tergal glands

Hanus, Robert; Luxová, Anna; Šobotník, Jan; Kalinová, Blanka; Jiroš, Pavel; Krecek, Jan; Bourguignon, Thomas; Bordereau, Christian

doi:10.1007/s00040-009-0005-5

Cited by 30 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Courtship in termites usually consists of calling behavior and tandem behavior, both associated with secretion of a sex pheromone. In Psammotermes, we did not observe the typical calling posture of females with the tergal glands exposed (see e.g., Hanus et al, 2009). However, the readiness of females to call might have been affected by the laboratory conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…The participation of the female tergal glands in the sexual attraction was obvious from their occurrence in histological sections; the female imagos being the only caste and sex with these glands present (see also Ampion and Quennedey, 1981). The role of the sternal gland and its secretion was less obvious but also likely, based on their histology: the gland is smaller than in Reticulitermes (Rhinotermitidae: Heterotermitinae), in which it is the sole source of the sex pheromone, but at the same time it is significantly larger than in the related Prorhinotermes, in which it does not participate in the sexual attraction and is vestigial (Šobotník and Hubert, 2003;Hanus et al, 2009). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…It is particularly true for the situation within the paraphyletic family Rhinotermitidae, within which both Serritermitidae and Termitidae probably evolved (see recent molecular phylogenetic studies, e.g., Lo et al, 2004;Ohkuma et al, 2004;Inward et al, 2007;Legendre et al, 2008). Most rhinotermitids studied so far use the unsaturated alcohol (3Z,6Z,8E)-dodeca-3,6,8-trien-1-ol (dodecatrienol) as their trail pheromone (e.g., Matsumura et al, 1968;Tai et al, 1969;Tokoro et al, 1989Tokoro et al, , 1991Wobst et al, 1999;Sillam-Dussès, 2004), and also as the sex pheromone produced by the sternal or tergal glands of females (Laduguie et al, 1994a,b;Hanus et al, 2009). However, the subfamily Prorhinotermitinae displays another combination of glands and compounds, similar to the situation in Termitidae (Bordereau et al, 2002Sillam-Dussès et al, 2010): the trail pheromone consists of the diterpene neocembrene (major component) and dodecatrienol (Sillam-Dussès et al, 2009); the sex pheromone is once again dodecatrienol, but it is secreted by female tergal glands .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Sex Pheromone and Trail Pheromone of the Sand Termite Psammotermes hybostoma

et al. 2011

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Within the complex network of chemical signals used by termites, trail pheromones and sex pheromones are among the best known. Numerous recent papers map the chemical identity and glandular origin of these pheromones in nearly all major isopteran taxa. In this study, we aimed to describe the sex pheromone and the trail pheromone of a poorly known sand termite, Psammotermes hybostoma. We identified (3Z,6Z,8E)-dodeca-3,6,8-trien-1-ol (dodecatrienol) as the sex pheromone released by tergal and sternal glands of female imagos and, at the same time, as the trail pheromone secreted from the sternal gland of workers. We conclude that chemical communication in Psammotermes does not differ from that of most other Rhinotermitidae, such as Reticulitermes, despite the presence of a diterpene as a major component of the trail pheromone of Prorhinotermes to which Psammotermes is presumed to be phylogenetically close. Our findings underline once again the conservative nature of chemical communication in termites, with dodecatrienol being a frequent component of pheromonal signals in trail following and sex attraction and, at the same time, a tight evolutionary relationship between the trail following of working castes and the sex attraction of imagos.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Sex Pheromone and Trail Pheromone of the Sand Termite Psammotermes hybostoma

et al. 2011

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“…Once food has been found, the termites return to the nest using this exploratory trail while simultaneously laying down a recruitment trail that is far more attractive to foragers (Oloo and Leuthold 1979;Traniello 1982). It is difficult to determine whether exploratory Šobotník et al (2008), Hanus et al (2009Hanus et al ( , 2010, and Sillam-Dussès et al (2009a) and recruitment trails only differ quantitatively, as suggested by the fact that workers lay down a dotted exploratory trail but a continuous recruitment trail, or whether they also differ qualitatively as a result of differences in chemical composition (Affolter and Leuthold 2000). Foraging is often initiated by workers, who are later eventually accompanied by soldiers (e.g., Heidecker and Leuthold 1984;Lys and Leuthold 1991;Reinhard et al 1997a).…”

Section: Foraging and Food Markingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Communication and Social Regulation in Termites

Bagnères

Hanus

2015

Social Recognition in Invertebrates

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Communication and social regulation are among the distinguishing features of termites: they are part of all basic aspects of termite biology, from ontogeny and caste differentiation to social behavior and cooperation. As in other highly social taxa, communication in termites predominantly relies on a complex network of chemical signals, which are complemented by vibration-based signals. In contrast to other social taxa, the role of visual cues is negligible. In this chapter, we review the recent literature on the different components that make up termite communication and social regulation systems by tracing termite evolution and examining the role played by different factors, such as sex and caste, and different behaviors, such as those related to defense, nestmate recognition, egg and brood care, foraging, and nest building, among others. The main characteristics of termites are compared to those of other social insects in the introduction. In the first section, we review the most important researches on termite communication and social regulation that are related to social activities in the basal phylogenetic lineages, and in the Termitidae (higher termites), the most advanced and diversified family. The abundant literature on the best studied genera, Reticulitermes, Coptotermes, and Heterotermes, which are considered for the purposes of this chapter to be intermediate termites, is reviewed and discussed separately in the second section. By using this approach, we seek to describe communication and social regulation systems in basal and primitive termites and illustrate how they have evolved to become more complex in intermediate and higher termites.

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“…(Bordereau et al 1991). Other glands are sometimes involved in termite sexual behavior, such as the tergal gland (Bordereau et al, 2002Hanus et al, 2009) and the posterior sternal glands . In O. formosanus, only the sternal glands of the female are used for calling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-Pairing Pheromone in the Asian Termite Pest Species Odontotermes formosanus

Wen

BaoZhong

Liu³

et al. 2012

J Chem Ecol

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The sex-pairing pheromone of the black winged subterranean termite, Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki) (Isoptera, Termitidae), was investigated using headspace-SPME, GC-MS, GC-EAD, and attraction bioassays. Females secrete the pheromone from their sternal gland to attract males. The sex-pairing pheromone is composed of (Z,Z)-dodeca-3,6-dien-1-ol and (Z)-dodec-3-en-1-ol, estimated at 9 to 16.64 ng and 0.2 to 0.54 ng, respectively. Both short- and long-distance sex attraction bioassays were employed to show that these compounds act in synergy at long distance, but only (Z,Z)-dodeca-3,6-dien-1-ol is active at short distance. The pheromone may be useful in efforts to control this pest, which is considered one of the most harmful termite species in Southeast Asia.

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Sexual communication in the termite Prorhinotermes simplex (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) mediated by a pheromone from female tergal glands

Cited by 30 publications

References 28 publications

Sex Pheromone and Trail Pheromone of the Sand Termite Psammotermes hybostoma

Sex Pheromone and Trail Pheromone of the Sand Termite Psammotermes hybostoma

Communication and Social Regulation in Termites

Sex-Pairing Pheromone in the Asian Termite Pest Species Odontotermes formosanus

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