The role of gas chromatography and its ancillary techniques in the identification of pheromones and other semiochemicals over the last 30 years is discussed, using some examples from research on chemical communication in insects and mammals.
(Elsevier, 2005) Burger, B. V.; Nibbering, Nico M.
INTRODUCTION: The application of mass spectral techniques in the
identifica tion of compounds invo lved in chemical
communication between living organisms will be
discussed in this a rticle. These biologically highly
active chemical compounds are lumped together
under the term " se miochemicals" from the Greek
Sl!mion , a sign. Depending on the relationship
between the producer and receiver of a chemical
message, various other terms, such as pheromones,
allomones, and kairomones, are also used to define
these compounds or mixtures of compounds. An
allomone, for example, could thus be a single
compound or a mixture of compounds that together
elicit a specific reaction in the target organism.