| Title: | The antennal benzoic acid receptor cell of the female silk moth Bombyx mori L.: structure-activity relationship studies with halogen substitutes |
| Author(s): | de Brito Sanchez MG; Kaissling KE; |
| Address: | "Laboratorio de Fisiologia de Insectos, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428, Buenos Aires, Argentina. debrito@cict.fr" |
| Journal Title: | J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00359-004-0588-2 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0340-7594 (Print) 0340-7594 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Studies on structure-activity relationships were carried out to characterize the response specificity of the benzoic acid cell of the female of the moth Bombyx mori by means of single sensillum electrophysiological recordings. We demonstrated that this cell type responds best to a natural key substance (benzoic acid) and has similar response profiles for less effective compounds, including various halogen substitutes of benzoic acid, benzaldehyde and other derivates of the key compound. Using different halogen substitutes (F, Cl, Br, I), we showed that the cellular response decreases with increasing atomic size of the substitute and that halogen substitutes were most effective in the meta-position. Thus, m-fluor benzoic acid was even more effective than benzoic acid. These results indicate that a critical feature of the stimulus molecule is the inductive effect generated by the halogen substitutes. Increasing the atomic size of the halogen substitute impairs the recognition of the molecule by the receptor cell, possibly due to steric effects. Decreasing the electron density in the aromatic ring improves the receptor response. The benzoic acid receptor cell can be considered as specialist despite not being involved in pheromone detection as it responds maximally to a key substance and has similar response profiles for less effective compounds" |
| Keywords: | "Action Potentials/drug effects/*physiology Animals Benzoic Acid/*pharmacology Bombyx/*chemistry/drug effects/*physiology Chemoreceptor Cells/drug effects/*physiology Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Female Halogens/*chemistry Structure-Activity Relationsh;" |
| Notes: | "Medlinede Brito Sanchez, Maria Gabriela Kaissling, Karl-Ernst eng Comparative Study Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Germany 2004/12/23 J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2005 Feb; 191(2):189-96. doi: 10.1007/s00359-004-0588-2. Epub 2004 Dec 22" |
