Gyrinidal: a sesquiterpenoid aldehyde from the defensive glands of gyrinid beetles.

Three species of gyrinid beetles (Gyrinus ventralis, Dineutes hornii, and D. serrulatus) have been found to produce the nor-sesquiterpenoid aldehyde gyrinidal in the secretion of their pygidial defensive glands. This highly functionalized terpene is shown to be (E,E,E)-3,7-dimethyl-8,11-dioxo-2,6,9-dodecatrienal on the basis of spectral evidence and chemical degradation. While a very wide range of sesquiterpenoid structures occur in nature, gyrinidal appears to be the most highly oxidized acyclic sesquiterpene known.