The molecule is a hydroxy ketone ascaroside obtained by formal condensation of the hydroxy group of (5R)-5-hydroxyhexan-2-one with ascarylopyranose (the alpha anomer). It is a major component of the dauer pheromone, used by the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a population-density signal to promote entry into an alternate larval stage, the nonfeeding and highly persistent dauer diapause, and also synergises with ascr#3, ascr#4, and ascr#8 in male attraction. It has a role as a Caenorhabditis elegans metabolite and a pheromone. It is a methyl ketone and a hydroxy ketone ascaroside. It derives from a (5R)-5-hydroxyhexan-2-one.
(5R)-5-[(2R,3R,5R,6S)-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl]oxyhexan-2-one