A diterpene synthase from the sandfly produces the pheromone sobralene.

The phlebotomine sandfly, , a major vector of the parasite, uses terpene pheromones to attract conspecifics for mating. Examination of the genome revealed a putative terpene synthase (TPS), which-upon heterologous expression in, and purification from, -yielded a functional enzyme. The TPS, termed TPS, converted geranyl diphosphate (GPP) into a mixture of monoterpenes with low efficiency, of which β-ocimene was the major product. ()-farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) principally produced small amounts of ()-β-farnesene, while ()- and ()-FPP yielded a mixture of bisabolene isomers. None of these mono- and sesquiterpenes are known volatiles of . Notably, however, when provided with ()-geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP), TPS gave sobralene as its major product. This diterpene pheromone is released by certain chemotypes of , in particular those found in the Ceará state of Brazil. Minor diterpene components were also seen as products of the enzyme that matched those seen in a sandfly pheromone extract.