Pheromone unwrapping by pH flip-flopping.
The Asian elephant utilizes the same sex pheromone as a number of moth species, (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate encapsulated in a serum-derived albumin. The chemical signal is emitted in the urine and received in the mucus of the trunk. The unwrapping of the package is pH mediated.
Leal
Walter S
WS
Honorary Maeda-Duffey Lab, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
D000418:Albumins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D007851:Dodecanol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D004606:Elephants / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine
D000418:Albumins; D010675:Pheromones; C001993:7-dodecen-1-yl acetate; D007851:Dodecanol