Cembrene
Encyclopedia
Cembrene A, or sometimes neocembrene, is a natural monocyclic diterpene
Terpene
Terpenes are a large and diverse class of organic compounds, produced by a variety of plants, particularly conifers, though also by some insects such as termites or swallowtail butterflies, which emit terpenes from their osmeterium. They are often strong smelling and thus may have had a protective...

 isolated from corals of the genus Nephthea. It is a colorless oil with a faint wax-like odor.

Cembrene A itself has little importance as chemical entity, being a trail pheromone
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...

 for termites; however, the chemical structure of cembrene is central to a very wide variety of other natural products found both in plants and in animals.

Cembrenes are biosynthesized by macrocyclization
Macrocycle
A macrocycle is, as defined by IUPAC, "a cyclic macromolecule or a macromolecular cyclic portion of a molecule." In the chemical literature, organic chemists may consider any molecule containing a ring of nine or more atoms to be a macrocycle...

 of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate
Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate
Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate is an intermediate in the HMG-CoA reductase pathway used by organisms in the biosynthesis of terpenes and terpenoids. In plants it is also the precursor to carotenoids, gibberellins, tocopherols, and chlorophylls....

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK