9407372 Schal Hydrocarbons comprise a major component of arthropod cuticle and they play crucial roles in preventing water loss. The German cockroach sex pheromone is derived from a hydrocarbon biosynthetic pathway. Experiments are proposed to investigate which tissue(s) produces hydrocarbon and pheromone, how synthesis is regulated, and examine the mechanisms of lipid transport to the cuticle through the blood by lipophorin, a reusable protein shuttle. Dr. Schal's results will identify critical, and potentially vulnerable, biochemical and physiological processes in the life of the German cockroach, a worldwide pest of tremendous ecomonic and human health importance. ***
