Sobralene, a new sex-aggregation pheromone and likely shunt metabolite of the taxadiene synthase cascade, produced by a member of the sand fly species complex.

A new sex-aggregation pheromone, sobralene, produced by the sand fly from Sobral (Ceará State, Brazil) is shown to have the novel 6,12-membered ring-fused diterpene structure It is proposed that sobralene is a likely shunt metabolite of the taxadiene synthase-catalysed cyclisation of geranygeranyl diphosphate.

A temporal comparison of sex-aggregation pheromone gland content and dynamics of release in three members of the Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) species complex.

Background: Lutzomyia longipalpis is the South American vector of Leishmania infantum, the etiologic agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Male L. longipalpis produce a sex-aggregation pheromone that is critical in mating, yet very little is known about its accumulation over time or factors involved in release.

Synthetic sex pheromone in a long-lasting lure attracts the visceral leishmaniasis vector, Lutzomyia longipalpis, for up to 12 weeks in Brazil.

Current control methodologies have not prevented the spread of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) across Brazil. Here, we describe the development of a new tool for controlling the sand fly vector of the disease: a long-lasting lure, which releases a synthetic male sex pheromone, attractive to both sexes of Lutzomyia longipalpis. This device could be used to improve the effectiveness of residual insecticide spraying as a means of sand fly control, attracting L.