Meinwald, Jerrold Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Last reviewed:January 2020
Show previous versions
- Cellular slime molds
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
A substance that acts as a molecular messenger, transmitting information from one member of a species to another member of the same species. A pheromone is a chemical substance secreted by an individual that influences the behavior of other individuals of the same species (Fig. 1). In general, a distinction is made between releaser pheromones, which elicit a rapid, behavioral response, and primer pheromones, which elicit a slower, developmental response and may pave the way for a future behavior. The first pheromone to be characterized chemically was bombykol; this unsaturated, straight-chain alcohol is secreted in microgram amounts by females of the silkworm moth (Bombyx mori) and is capable of attracting male silkworm moths at large distances. See also: Animal communication; Chemical ecology; Chemoreception
The content above is only an excerpt.
for your institution. Subscribe
To learn more about subscribing to AccessScience, or to request a no-risk trial of this award-winning scientific reference for your institution, fill in your information and a member of our Sales Team will contact you as soon as possible.
to your librarian. Recommend
Let your librarian know about the award-winning gateway to the most trustworthy and accurate scientific information.
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information