MACE release 8 is now available. It contains 680 EI- and 50 Orbitrap mass spectra, including terpenoids, pheromones, alkaloids, lipids, etc.
The open-access data can be found at

doi.org/10.24355/dbb...

The MACE website with individual spectra is accessible via🧪

www.oc.tu-bs.de/schulz/html/...

Frog farnesyl pyrophosphate synthases and their role as non-canonical terpene synthases for bisabolane sesquiterpenes Three enzymes from African frogs with close sequence homology to avian farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS) were studied for their function. All three enzymes converted (2Z,6E)-FPP into several bisa...

The first frog sesquiterpene synthase, a non-canonical terpene synthase producing bisabolol was characterized by heterologous expression. Published in Org.Biomolec. Chem.
@orgbiomolchem.rsc.org‬
doi.org/10.1039/D5OB...

Genomics of Neotropical biodiversity indicators: Two butterfly radiations with rampant chromosomal rearrangements and hybridization | PNAS A central question in evolutionary biology is what drives the diversification of lineages. Rapid, recent radiations are ideal systems for this ques...

What a unique day! By coincidence, three papers we are involved in were published today. The third one describes the genomic analysis of the rapid radiation of ithomiine butterflies, which use color mimicry. Species recognition seems to involve semiochemicals. See PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Determination of Methyl Group Positions in Long-Chain Aliphatic Methyl Ethers and Alcohols by Gas Chromatography/Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry Methylated long-chain aliphatic compounds such as terminal methyl ethers are a common compound type found on the epicuticular layer of arthropods, e.g., spiders. Because complex mixtures are encounter...

For the GC/MS analyses of these long methylalkyl methyl ethers, it is most useful to use Orbitrap instead of quadrupole GC/MS. The spectral analysis is easier with a tool called by us ion series spectra (ISS). See in Analyt. Chem. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

We investigated the synthesis of methyl-branched long-chain alkyl methyl ethers, occurring in spider cuticular lipids. The late introduction of the methyl group appears to be superior compared to carrying it along from the beginning. See our article in Eur. J. Org. Chem.
doi.org/10.1002/ejoc...

Small animals with unique chemistry – the natural product chemistry of Collembola Covering up to September 2024 Collembola, commonly known as springtails, are abundant and important members of soil ecosystems. Due to their small size and hidden life, not much is known about their…

🔓Take a look in our latest issue at this Highlight by Anton Möllerke & Stefan Schulz, part of our 40th anniversary collection, discussing the natural product chemistry of Collembola #natprod

📍 @tu-braunschweig.de @labschulz.bsky.social
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

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MACE is an open-access mass spectral database of electron-impact (EI) mass spectra. Release 7 is now available with 520 EI spectra and 32 Orbitrap spectra.
doi.org/10.24355/dbb...
A description of MACE 7 can be found at:
www.oc.tu-bs.de/schulz/html/...
🧪 #secmet

Orchid bees love HNDB! We developed a short g-scale synthesis of this compound, 2-hydroxy-6-nona-1,3-dienylbenzaldehyde, published in Synlett:
www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejo... 🧪
#secmet #natprod

Curvisetone─A Male-Specific Tricyclic nor-Diterpenoid from the Springtail Sinella curviseta The structure determination and occurrence of curvisetone (1), a tricyclic nor-diterpenoid from the tiny Collembola Sinella curviseta, is reported. Utilizing NMR analysis and mass spectrometry, we identified curvisetone’s unique carbon skeleton and its occurrence in various sex and life stages. Curvisetone, carrying an unprecedented carbon tricyclic ring system, is an example of the distinct terpene usage of Collembola, which differentiates them from other arthropods.

Tiny animals can produce novel terpenoids:
Curvisetone─A Male-Specific Tricyclic nor-Diterpenoid from the Springtail Sinella curviseta
#natprod 🧪 Journal of Natural Products pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Anton Möllerke, Braunschweig, und Nina Hartrampf, Zürich, erhalten DECHEMA-Preise für Naturstoffforschung 2025

Anton Möllerke from our group won the DECHEMA PhD prize for Natural Product Research 2025 for his work on the chemistry of springtails.🧪

nachrichten.idw-online.de/2025/03/04/a...

Olfaction with legs—Spiders use wall-pore sensilla for pheromone detection | PNAS The sense of smell is a central sensory modality of most terrestrial species. However, our knowledge of olfaction is based on vertebrates and insec...

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Olfaction in spiders. We found that the wall pore sensilla in spiders look similar from the outside to those of insects, but differ ultrastructurally in various ways. Independent evolution!
🧪

We have discovered a new type of steroid with contracted A-ring, the batrachane skeleton, in the gular scent glands of Odontobatrachus frogs. See the identification and synthesis of various batrachodienes, potentially used as signals, in Angew. Chem.
t.co/rmoLRDW0bC

We congratulate Natural Product Reports on 40 years of publication with a highlight on the chemistry of springtails. Please take a look at the fascinating compounds produced by these tiny soil dwellers.🧪
doi.org/10.1039/d4np...

MACE release 6 is now available. It contains over 420 EI mass spectra and almost 30 orbitrap mass spectra.
The data can be found at leopard.tu-braunschweig.de/receive/dbbs...
The MACE website with individual spectra is accessible via www.oc.tu-bs.de/schulz/html/...

In memory of the late Paul Weldon: This new but last joint paper describes unusual fatty acids from the scent glands of the endangered Mangshan pit viper.
www.beilstein-journals.org/bjoc/article... 🧪

What is Chemical Ecology (and why you should care) YouTube video by The E-NICHE channel to European Chemical Ecology

The European cooperative program e-niche, sponsored by the EU Cost Action, has released a short video explaining why we are interested in Chemical Ecology and what it actually is.
🧪 youtu.be/Cv6SIx2b-ms

Unique highly hetero-substituted benzenes are defense compounds from tiny springtails. The minute amounts available needed the combination of GC/MS, GC/IR, DFT calculation, and synthesis to arrive at the structures. 🧪

t.co/T6QQe72uiT

Identification of unique highly hetero-substituted benzenes as chemical weapons of springtails by a combination of trace analytical methods with DFT calculations and synthesis Springtails (Collembola) are important members of the soil mesofauna. They are small, often less than 1–2 mm in length. A typical escape response of most surface-living species is to jump, using their...

Hi, I like to be added to the list as a chemist. A publication link is:
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
Thank you

Maybe something for #secmet

Springtails are great terpene chemists, but they can also synthesize other stuff. See our analysis of 23 species in iScience and their unique cuticular chemistry. Organic analysis and synthesis are needed to decipher their compounds.
t.co/dvoeGLFia8

Nitidane: An Irregular Prenylated Diterpene from the Cuticle of the Springtail Heteromurus nitidus Collembola are closely related to insects, but our knowledge of their often unique chemistry is limited. Here we report the identification of the epicuticular lipid nitidane, representing a novel clas...

A unique cuticular hydrocarbon from the springtail Heteromurus nitidus. This new terpene type, a prenylated geranylated diterpene, highlights differences between Collembola and more advanced insects. See our article in J Nat Prod.
t.co/z9HQ8WbIRm

Hybrid speciation driven by multilocus introgression of ecological traits - Nature Genomic studies of Heliconius butterflies provide evidence that Heliconius elevatus is a hybrid species, and that its speciation was driven by introgression of traits from Heliconius melpomene in...

Colaboramos em um lindo estudo sobre especiação em borboletas #Heliconius, publicado hoje na prestigiada revista científica Nature. Um esforço coletivo liderado brilhantemente por Neil Rosser.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Socialane, the first cyclic regular [9]-terpene was synthesized and identified by us as cuticular hydrocarbon of the tiny springtail Hypogastrura socialis. If you are interested its stereoselective synthesis, see doi.org/10.1002/chem... in Chemistry Eur. J.

Volatile salinilactones, produced by the bacterium Salinispora, target disulfide-isomerases. See doi.org/10.1002/advs... in Advanced Science, by K. Jerye et al. of the @BronstrupLab. This is one of the first studies describing how bacterial volatiles act.

The first issue of the Journal of Natural Products this year starts with our cover illustration. pubs.acs.org/toc/jnprdf/8...

MACE: MAss spectra for Chemical Ecology
We are happy to announce release 5 of MACE. MACE now includes 254 EI mass-spectra from 13 groups. Visit the MACE website oc.tu-bs.de/schulz/html/...
and the MACE data repository. doi.org/10.24355/dbb...
MACE is open access.

We discovered and synthesized the first cyclopropane containing cuticular hydrocarbon from an arthropod, called sarekensane. The high-mountain springtail Vertagopus sarekensis uses it. Identification requires derivatization and GC/MS methods. See more in J. Nat. Prod.
t.co/qObtLgiEFo