Natural polyesters: Dufour's gland macrocyclic lactones form brood cell laminesters in Colletes bees

Abraham Hefetz; Henry M. Fales; Suzanne W.T. Batra

doi:10.1126/science.204.4391.415

Natural polyesters: Dufour's gland macrocyclic lactones form brood cell laminesters in Colletes bees

Abraham Hefetz^*
, Henry M. Fales
, Suzanne W.T. Batra

^*Corresponding author for this work

National Institutes of Health
Beneficial Insect Introduction Laboratory

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bees in the genus Colletes make their brood cells in the ground and coat them with a highly resistant, waterproof, transparent membrane. This membrane is a polyester constructed mainly from 18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid and 20-hydroxyeicosanoic acid, which are stored as their corresponding lactones in the Dufour's gland of the bee. When lining the cells, the bee secretes its glandular content, and the membrane is apparently a product of polycondensation reaction of its contents. This appears to be the first report of a naturally occurring linear polyester. The term laminester (lamina ≃ layer + ester) for this class of compounds is proposed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	415-417
Number of pages	3
Journal	Science
Volume	204
Issue number	4391
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.204.4391.415
State	Published - 1979
Externally published	Yes

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abstract = "Bees in the genus Colletes make their brood cells in the ground and coat them with a highly resistant, waterproof, transparent membrane. This membrane is a polyester constructed mainly from 18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid and 20-hydroxyeicosanoic acid, which are stored as their corresponding lactones in the Dufour's gland of the bee. When lining the cells, the bee secretes its glandular content, and the membrane is apparently a product of polycondensation reaction of its contents. This appears to be the first report of a naturally occurring linear polyester. The term laminester (lamina ≃ layer + ester) for this class of compounds is proposed.",

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year = "1979",

doi = "10.1126/science.204.4391.415",

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Natural polyesters: Dufour's gland macrocyclic lactones form brood cell laminesters in Colletes bees

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