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Defensive steroids from a carrion beetle (Silpha americana)

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Summary

The defensive anal effluent discharged bySilpha americana in response to disturbance contains a mixture of steroids stemming from a glandular annex of the rectum. The compounds have been characterized as 15β-hydroxyprogesterone (1, principal component), 5β-pregnan-15β-ol-3, 20-dione (2), 5β-pregnan-3α, 15β-diol-20-one (3), 5β-pregnan-7β, 15β-diol-3,20-dione (4), 5β-pregnan-3α, 7β, 15β-triol-20-one (5), 5β-pregnan-16α-ol-3,20-dione (6), and 5β-pregnan-3α, 16α-diol-20-one (7), none previously found in insects. Bioassays with jumping spiders showed compounds1 and6 to be feeding deterrents at the 1 μg level.

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Author notes

  1. B. Roach

    Present address: Unit 7834-233-2, Upjohn Company, 49001, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

  2. D. Alsop

    Present address: Department of Biology, Queens College, 11367, Flushing, New York, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, 14853, Ithaca, New York, USA

    J. Meinwald, B. Roach, K. Hicks, D. Alsop & T. Eisner

Authors
  1. J. Meinwald
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  2. B. Roach
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  3. K. Hicks
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  4. D. Alsop
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  5. T. Eisner
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Additional information

Paper No. 78 of the series: Defense Mechanisms of Arthropods. Study supported by NIH (Grants AI-02908, AI-12020). We thank Maura Malarcher and Maria Eisner for excellent technical help, and the Squibb Institute of Medical Research for samples of authentic reference compounds.

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Meinwald, J., Roach, B., Hicks, K. et al. Defensive steroids from a carrion beetle (Silpha americana). Experientia 41, 516–519 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01966178

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