Diversity of defensive secretions in millipedes (Diplopoda)

Abstract

Defensive secretions present in Diplopoda have long since been the subject of research in chemical ecology, and data on their chemical structures have been accumulated. These defensive secretions can be systematized to some extent from the viewpoint of taxonomy. Additionally, this paper describes the industrially important uses of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of defensive secretions and the action of defensive secretions as a new type of allelochemics, which is considered as a means of chemical defense against predators. On the other hand, although some new defensive secretions, mainly alkaloids, have been discovered in natural products chemistry, research of defensive secretions has reached a mature stage in millipedes. In the future, in addition to research on biological interactions by means of defensive secretions, research on currently unresolved chemical communications within species is expected to advance.