• Citer

A toxic dipeptide from the defense glands of the Colorado beetle

par Daloze, Désiré ;Braekman, Jean Claude ;Pasteels, Jacques
Référence Science, 233, page (221-223)
Publication Publié, 1986

Article révisé par les pairs

• Accès en ligne
• Détails
• Contenu
• Statistiques

Résumé :

The Colorado beetle is protected against predators by the secretions of defensive glands located on the pronotum and the elytra. The single major compound of the secretion was identified as γ-L-glutamyl-L-2-amino-3(Z),5-hexadienoic acid by spectroscopic and chemical methods. This compound, which contains a nonprotein β,γ-unsaturated amino acid, is toxic to ants (Myrmica rubra) at a concentration 10-2 molar, which is less than its estimated concentration in the secretion (1.8 x 10-1 molar).