Neofunctionalization in an ancestral insect desaturase lineage led to rare Delta(6) pheromone signals in the Chinese tussah silkworm
The Chinese tussah silkworm, Antheraea pernyi (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) produces a rare dienoic sex pheromone composed of (E,Z)-6,11-hexadecadienal, (E,Z)-6,11-hexadecadienyl acetate and (E,Z)-4,9-tetradecadienyl acetate, and for which the biosynthetic routes are yet unresolved. By means of gland composition analyses and in vivo labeling we evidenced that pheromone biosynthesis towards the immedi