Structure elucidation of female-specific volatiles released by the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma turkestanica (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

• Armin Tröger,
• Teris A. van Beek,
• Martinus E. Huigens,
• Isabel M. M. S. Silva,
• Maarten A. Posthumus and
• Wittko Francke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 767–773, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.72

• -diene and (2E,4E,6S,8S,10S)-4,6,8,10-tetramethyltrideca-2,4-dien-1-ol or their enantiomers as sex specific volatiles. The structures were assigned on the basis of GC–MS investigations using synthetic reference compounds. Keywords: natural products; structure elucidation; sex specific; Trichogramma

• the two female-produced compounds is unclear, however, Pompanon et al. [31] showed the presence of a sex specific pheromone released by females of Trichogramma brassicae. Future bioassays with the two new polydeoxypropionates will scrutinize whether they induce courtship behavior in males of

Asymmetric total synthesis of a putative sex pheromone component from the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma turkestanica

• Danny Geerdink,
• Jeffrey Buter,
• Teris A. van Beek and
• Adriaan J. Minnaard

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 761–766, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.71

• that only virgin females are able to trigger casting behavior in males, which has led to the assumption that virgin females of Trichogramma turkestanica produce a sex pheromone. Analysis of headspace volatiles of virgin females, collected via solid-phase microextraction, showed the presence of two sex

• specific components which were regarded to play an important role in this sex pheromone. After extensive analysis by mass spectrometry and derivatisation studies, the natural products were postulated to be 2,6,8,12-tetrametyltrideca-2,4-diene (A) and 2,6,8,12-tetramethyltrideca-2,4-dien-1-ol (B) (Figure 1