Pheromone transport volatile pheromones

Our understanding of pheromone reception had undergone dramatic change just prior to 1987 with the proposal that PBPs and pheromone degrading enzymes transported and inactivated pheromonal signals within the sensilla. The general framework of this process is now known to be widespread for most insects and for the reception of pheromones, plant volatiles and other odorants. 

Schal, C., Sevala, V. and Card6, R. T. (1998). Novel and highly specific transport of a volatile sex pheromone by hemolymph lipophorin in moths. Naturwissenschaften 85 339-342. 

Schal, C., Fan, Y. and Blomquist, G. J. (2003). Regulation of pheromone biosynthesis, transport, and emission in cockroaches. In Insect Pheromone Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - The Biosynthesis and Detection of Pheromones and Plant Volatiles, ed. G. J. Blomquist and R. G. Vogt. London Elsevier, pp. 283-322. 

Sexual communication between sexes in Lepidopteran species is mediated mainly by sex pheromones, which are volatile compounds used by the female to attract potential mates from a distance [18]. In moths, sex pheromones play an important role in the elicitation of mating behaviour, and are, therefore, crucial for successful mating. They are synthesised by females in a specialised gland, which is a modification of the inter-segmental membrane located between the eighth and ninth abdominal segments [19, 20]. The pheromone is produced within the epithelial cells, transported through the cuticle via special porous cuticular spines and disseminated from the surface [19, 20]. 

In previous papers, it has been hypothesized that MUPs could act as pheromone binding proteins, since their structure, with an inner hydrophobic pocket, permits the binding and transport of putative pheromonal molecules (Bacchini et al., 1992 Bocskei et al., 1992). We were interested in testing directly the hypothesis that MUPs purified from adult male urine bind a subset of the volatile molecules found in urine and that these then act as pheromones by modifying the behaviour of mice (Mucignat-Caretta, Caretta Baldini, 1998). 

---