Importance of Pheromones

Serena Cuoghi
Title of Professor of Biology

Pheromones, a very particular type of chemical substance, capable of producing certain signals by part of the body, open the door to a world of new complexities within the interactions of members of the same species, and in turn, of the invisible barriers that separate the different species each other.

Its silent presence has made the importance of pheromones in the animal kingdom a form of interaction and a means of communication that was quite unknown until relatively recently, although fortunately there are more and more studies and advances being made on where and how they influence the body and their roles in the nature.

Pheromones also have a high degree of connection with the hormonal processes responsible for procreation, so the level at which they are produced by the organism varies according to the need that the individual has to attract the opposite of the same species, however, there are various situations in which pheromones They can be produced and released in high quantities, demonstrating that they also play an important role among the defense mechanisms that humans have. animals.

In general terms, pheromones are a means of communication that allows the transmission and reception of information, without the need for a direct contact and long before the person who perceives them manages to capture through other senses the presence of the person who releases them, serving in turn to leave "footprints" on the road that serve both to guide members of the same species, and to scare away potential predators natural, seeing with all this that the importance of pheromones is transcendental for the development of species and ecological relationships between these.

naturally attractive

The main function attributed to pheromones is to intervene in the attraction processes between both sexes of the same species. Males and females produce and release pheromones designed to guarantee a romantic encounter and thus allow the sexual reproduction of the species, with which at the same time their survival is maintained, but how is it that it is produced? that magic?

Until not long ago it was considered that pheromones were simple substances designed to produce a specific smell with which the members of the same group could be more easily recognized species.

However, as scientific research on the subject has gone deeper into the mechanisms by which these substances are captured, it has been possible to reveal a much more complex network, which allows us to understand the importance of pheromones at levels not only of smell, but of the entire neurochemistry towards which these substances are intended to activate, so it can certainly be said that between two individuals there really is a chemistry that connects them, or that can even cause them to reject each other, without anything having to do with the aspects of personality or appearance to which they attach so much weight. we give.

So on some occasions, the attraction or repudiation between two or more people – or other animals – may just be a mere matter of pheromones.

Helpful uses of pheromones

One of the largest current applications of pheromones is in biological pest control.

Insects also have their own pheromones to recognize and mate, so without much hesitation, there have been many lines of scientific research that has been activated in the world to dedicate itself in the first place to the identification of these substances in each case, due to because they are different in each species and, later, verify that the substances found are indeed pheromones correct.

Once the pheromones of the selected species have been identified, it is necessary to study how these can be produced. substances artificially and in large quantities in order to finally be able to allocate them to their application in the crops.

All this, with the purpose of attracting the "bugs" to areas far from the crops that they may affect, either because they are carriers of diseases that specifically affect the crop plants or because in themselves they represent a direct threat to them, turning this deceptive attraction strategy based on synthetic pheromones into a great solution, both for the conservation of insect species, and for the progressive reduction of the use of pesticides, as the importance of pheromones on the part of growers and that scientific studies on each of the species of insects that affect the crops.

On the other hand, the attraction between people also proves to be an area of ​​relevance, finding a particular application in the industry. cosmetic, through its incorporation into certain perfumes, however, little has been demonstrated about the real usefulness of this use.

Bibliographic references

WHITE METZLER, H. (2004). Pheromones and their uses in integrated pest management.

LOPEZ, Angel Alonso Romero; ARZUFFI, René; MORÓN, Miguel Ángel (2005). Pheromones and sexual attractants of agriculturally important Melolonthidae beetles. Folia Entomológica Mexicana, vol. 44, no 2, p. 233-245.

Lehninger, A. (1977). Biochemistry. 2nd Edition. Havana City, Cuba. Editorial People and Education.