Antibiotic-induced inhibition of pheromone synthesis in a bark beetle.

Ingestion of diet containing streptomycin inhibited the conversion of myrcene, a host plant terpene, to the male-specific pheromones ipsenol and ipsdienol in 1ps paraconfusus. Synthesis of cis-verbenol, which is not a sex-specific pheromone, from the host plant terpene (-)-alpha-pinene and other metabolites from these two terpenes was not inhibited by the antibiotic.