A stereoisomer of JHSB3 with 10S-configuration, 10S-JHSB3, biosynthesized by the corpus allatum of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

The products released by the corpus allatum (CA), an endocrine gland producing juvenile hormone (JH), were analyzed in three species of stink bugs. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of the CA products from female adults of Halyomorpha halys (Stal), Nezara viridula (Linnaeus), and Nezara antennata Scott (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) revealed that the CA biosynthesized JH III skipped bisepoxyside (JHSB(3)) in all three species. In H. halys, in addition to JHSB(3), the CA also produced its stereoisomer, 10S-JHSB(3). A bioassay focusing on the number of antennal segments was adopted to examine biological activity of these products. When last instar nymphs were treated with either of the two JHs, they emerged as adults bearing nymphal type antennae with four segments in a dose-dependent fashion, indicating that both JHSB(3) and 10S-JHSB(3) had the JH activity in H. halys. Therefore, for the first time, 10S-JHSB(3) in H. halys was found to be a naturally occurring JH molecule with 10S-configuration.