title: Cyclopentyl ketones: identification and function in Azteca ants.
abstract: The anal gland secretions of dolichoderine ants in the genus Azteca are fortified with cyclopentyl ketones. Since these compounds, 2-methylcyclopentanone, cis-1-acetyl-2-methylcyclopentane, and 2-acetyl-3-methylcyclopentene, release sustained alarm behavior in ant workers, they constitute a new chemical class of insect pheromones. The ketones probably also function as defensive compounds and thus are part of the ants' alarm-defense system.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*; D007659:Ketones / Q000378:metabolism*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010675:Pheromones
chemical_list: D003517:Cyclopentanes; D007659:Ketones; D010675:Pheromones