A study of a termite chemical defense fluid compound of Macrotermes carbonarius

International Conference on Biodiversity 2018

Alia Diyana, M.H.^1 ; Appalasamy, S.^1 ; Arumugam, N.^1 ; Boon, J.G.^2

Faculty of Earth Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Jeli Campus, Locked Bag 100, Jeli, Kelantan

17600, Malaysia^1

Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Jeli Campus, Locked Bag 100, Jeli, Kelantan

17600, Malaysia^2

关键词: Chemical defense;    Fill up;    Fluid composition;    Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry;    GC-MS analysis;    Lauric acid;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/269/1/012009/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1755-1315/269/1/012009

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Termite caste consists of reproductive individuals, worker, and soldier. Soldiers defend their colony by physical and chemical means. For Macrotermes carbonarius, they use mandibles as their physical defense and defense fluid for chemical defense. Their defense fluid plays a vital role to defend their caste from any harm from another insect such as ants. This can be related to the fact that M. carbonarius is an urban pest that has many threats to their colony. However, less study had been focused on their defense fluid composition and how the compounds function. This study was carried out to determine the compound present in the defense fluid of M. carbonarius. The methods used in this study were thin layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). TLC detection indicated presence of three unknown compounds and one important compound. GCMS analysis had confirmed the compound as lauric acid methyl esther that was obtained from the TLC. This information would contribute to fill up the research gap and assist in better understanding the compound composition found in M. carbonarius defense fluid to protect their colony, an update on the defense fluid research since 1979 by Prestwich.