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Phytochemistry

Title:		The floral scent of Taccarum ulei (Araceae): attraction of scarab beetle pollinators to an unusual aliphatic acyloin
Author(s):		Maia AC; Gibernau M; Dotterl S; Navarro DM; Seifert K; Muller T; Schlindwein C;
Address:		"Departamento de Quimica Fundamental, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50740-560, Brazil. artur_campos_maia@yahoo.com.br"
Journal Title:		Phytochemistry
Year:		2013
Volume:		20130409
Issue:
Page Number:		71 - 78
DOI:		10.1016/j.phytochem.2013.03.005
ISSN/ISBN:		1873-3700 (Electronic) 0031-9422 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The strongly fragrant thermogenic inflorescences of Taccarum ulei (Araceae) are highly attractive to night-active scarab beetles of Cyclocephala celata and C. cearae (Scarabaeidae, Cyclocephalini), which are effective pollinators of plants in the wild in northeastern Brazil. GC-MS analysis of headspace floral scent samples of T. ulei established that two constituents, (S)-2-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-hexanone (an aliphatic acyloin rarely detected in flowers) and dihydro-beta-ionone (an irregular terpene) accounted for over 96% of the total scent discharge. Behavioral tests (in both field and cages) showed that male and female C. celata and C. cearae were attracted to traps baited with a synthetic mixture of both compounds; however, they were also responsive to (S)-2-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-hexanone alone, which thus functions as a specific attractive cue. These findings support other recent research in suggesting that angiosperms pollinated by cyclocephaline scarab beetles release floral odors of limited complexity in terms of numbers of compounds, but often dominated by unusual compounds that may ensure attraction of specific pollinator species"
Keywords:		Animals Araceae/*chemistry Coleoptera/*drug effects/physiology Fatty Alcohols/*chemistry/*pharmacology Female Flowers/*chemistry Male Molecular Structure *Odorants *Pollination (S)-2-Hydroxy-5-methyl-3-hexanone Araceae Behavioral tests Cyclocephala celata;
Notes:		"MedlineMaia, Artur Campos Dalia Gibernau, Marc Dotterl, Stefan Navarro, Daniela Maria do Amaral Ferraz Seifert, Karlheinz Muller, Tobias Schlindwein, Clemens eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2013/04/16 Phytochemistry. 2013 Sep; 93:71-8. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2013.03.005. Epub 2013 Apr 9"