Chemical defence of a centipede (Clinopodes flavidus).

Autor: Mitić BM; Institute of Zoology, University of Belgrade - Faculty of Biology, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; Faculty of Technology Zvornik, University of East Sarajevo, Karakaj 34a, 75400 Zvornik, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Electronic address: bojan@bio.bg.ac.rs., Jovanović VB; University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia., Todosijević MM; University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia., Eckhard M; Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstrasse 17, 1090 Vienna, Austria., Vasiljević LC; Faculty of Technology Zvornik, University of East Sarajevo, Karakaj 34a, 75400 Zvornik, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina., Tešević VV; University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia., Vujisić LV; University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of insect physiology [J Insect Physiol] 2024 Jun; Vol. 155, pp. 104649. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 15.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2024.104649
Abstrakt: Chemical substances are of utmost importance for the biotic interactions between animals and their predators/parasites; many of these semiochemicals are emitted for defence purposes. One of the most deterrent and toxic biogenic substances we know of is hydrogen cyanide, which can be stored by certain insects, millipedes, centipedes and arachnids in the form of stable and less volatile molecules. The aim of this study was to analyse the biology and chemistry of such a defence mechanism in a geophilomorph centipede (Chilopoda). The cyanogenic secretion of Clinopodes flavidus is discharged from the ventral glands, whose glandular units are located in the space between the cuticle and the trunk muscles and do not extend deep into the segment. In addition to hydrogen cyanide, the ventral secretion contains 2-methylpentanoic acid, benzaldehyde, benzoyl cyanide, 2-methyl branched C-9 carboxylic acid (tentatively identified as 2-methyloctanoic acid), methyl 2-phenylacetate, benzoic acid and mandelonitrile as well as four major proteins with a molecular weight of 150, 66.2, 59 and 55 kDa. The correlation between the presence of ventral glands and guarding with the female's ventral side facing away from the eggs and young indicates a functional link between these two traits. We hope that the specificity of the chemical composition of the ventral secretion could serve as a criterion for chemotaxonomy and that the analysis of more species will help to clarify the phylogenetic relationships within the Geophilomorpha.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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