Cyclohexyl acetate functions like a volatile sex pheromone mimic in Caenorhabditis nematodes
These data indicate that CA is unlikely to be a major VSP constituent; rather, it is a structural analog that elicits male-specific attraction via a parallel sensory circuit. The endogenous source of CA in C. remanei remains unresolved; our data do not establish whether females produce CA. Its structural and behavioral mimicry provides new insights into the complexity of chemosensory signaling and the potential for interspecies chemical eavesdropping in nematode ecology.
Authors
- Daniel Leighton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1379-0078)
- Ryoji Shinya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2450-3054)
- Matthew R. Gronquist
- Xuan Wan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6165-6340)
- Chung Man Chan
- Yuki Togawa
- Marika Sagawa
- Paul W. Sternberg
- King L. Chow
Institutions
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Meiji University (JP)
- Meiji University of Integrative Medicine (JP)
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK)
- Cornell University (US)
- SUNY Fredonia (US)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Biology
- Published
- 2026-01-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-026-02510-0
- Primary Topic
- Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00