Synomon
A synomon (from the Greek πσυ, syn together, with) is a messenger substance (so-called allelochemical ) for the transmission of information between different species , which is useful to both the emitting individual, the sender, and the receiving organism , the recipient. The term was coined in 1976 by Donald Nordlund and WJ Lewis. If, for example, plants infected by a pests attract other insects by means of a messenger substance, which in turn eat the plant pest, the messenger substance is to be regarded as a synomone, since it uses both the plant and the insect that feeds on the plant pests. This type of attraction is known in the Lima bean ( Phaseolus lunatus ). When the bean spider mite Tetranychus urticae is infested , it produces linalool , which attracts a predatory mite ( Phytoseiulus persimilis ), a natural enemy of the plant pest. This kills the predator of the lima bean and thus frees the plant from its pests, the linalool is a synonym for the plant and the predatory mite.
The term serves to distinguish it from the allomones that are useful for the donating organism (sender), the kairomones that are useful for the receiving organism and the pheromones that convey information within a species.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Donald A. Nordlund, WJ Lewis: Terminology of chemical releasing stimuli in intraspecific and interspecific interactions. In: Journal of Chemical Ecology. 2, 1976, pp. 211-220, doi : 10.1007 / BF00987744 .
- ↑ Pflanzenschutzamt Hamburg: Biological plant protection: beneficial insects .