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Chemistry and Biochemistry of Insect Hormones
Author(s) -
Karlson P.
Publication year - 1963
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition in english
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 0570-0833
DOI - 10.1002/anie.196301751
Subject(s) - ecdysone , hormone , insect , metamorphosis , biology , sex pheromone , vertebrate , endocrinology , medicine , zoology , biochemistry , larva , ecology , gene
Insect hormones attracted the interest of endocrinologists only comparatively recently. This is partly due to the fact that an equivalent of sex hormones – the classical hormones of vertebrate physiology – is unknown in insects. Castration has no marked effect on the secondary sexual characters. Insect hormones act primarily on developmental processes; the metamorphosis hormone, ecdysone, is the best studied. Recent investigations have shown that ecdysone has the empirical formula C 27 H 44 O 6 and belongs to the streroids. The mechanism of its action is seen in its influence on the chromosomes. – Other hormone‐like substances, the pheromones, are outstanding for their high activity; a few molecules are sufficient to trigger the characteristic behavioural response.