CHEMICAL DEFENSE OF SPRINGTAILS

Stefan SCHULZ-1, Christian MESSER-2, Konrad DETTNER-2
1-Institut für Organische Chemie. Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, D20146 Hamburg, Germany;
2-Institut für Tierökologie II, Universität Bayreuth. D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany


Some springtails (Collembola) use chemical compounds to defend themselves against predators. In the giant springtail Tetrodontophora bielanensis two unique alkaloids (1 and 2) have been identified some time ago in whole body extracts1. We investigated the defensive secretion of the insects. Besides the two pyridopyrazines 1 and 2 an additional compound of this type (3) could be identified. All three alkaloids were synthesized for the first time, enabling us to examine the biological function of these compounds. The alkaloids proved to be highly deterrent to predatory insects. The identification, synthesis and biological activity of these compounds will be discussed. In addition, some new results on the defensive chemistry of other Collembola will be presented.

Literature:
  1. Budesinsky M., Trka A., Stransky K., Streibl M.: Coli. Czech. Chem. Commun. 51, 956 (1986).

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