Pheromone sexual maturation

Lawton A.D. and Whitsett J.M. (1979). Inhibition of sexual maturation by a urinary pheromone in male prairie deer mice. Horm Behav 13, 128-138. 

Drosophila melanogaster is another dipteran where pheromone biosynthesis has been studied [92]. Adult sexually mature female D. melanogaster utilizes primarily Z7,Z11-27 H as a contact sex pheromone. The biosynthesis of this compound follows the biosynthesis of other hydrocarbon-derived pheromones (Fig. 3). It is biosynthesized in oenocytes [93], transported through the hemo-lymph by lipophorin [94], and deposited on the cuticle surface. Biosynthesis in the oenocytes follows a similar pathway [95] as that described for the house fly... 

In various fish species, sexually mature females that are ready to spawn emit chemicals to attract a male and stimulate him to court, release sperm into the water, be more active, build a nest, or assume the courtship coloration. We know more examples than for male pheromones (Liley, 1982). Sources of female pheromones can be ovarian fluid, eggs, mucus, urine, or skin. 

Lombardi, J. R. and Vandenbergh, J. G. (1977). Pheromonally induced sexual maturation in females regulation by the social environment of the male. Science 196,545-546. 

The male produced sex pheromone of the red-shouldered stink bug, Thyantapallidovirens Stal (Hemiptera Pentatomidae), was shown to consist of a blend of methyl ( "2, Z 4,. Z6)-decatrienoate and the sesquiterpenes (+)-a-curcumene, (—)-zingiberene and (—)-P-sesquiphellandrene. In laboratory bioassays, sexually mature males attracted sexually mature females but not males, and females did not attract either sex. Pheromone... 

It is interesting to note that these compounds attract mainly the males of the respective species. Therefore, these compounds might be pheromone mimics. Protein hydrolysates, on the other hand, attract both sexes of most Tephritids and are widely used as food baits. However, volatiles from protein hydrolysates may not be simply food attractants. The cyclic imine, 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrole, has been identified in protein hydrolysate volatiles (12), and this compound has been identified by Baker and coworkers (11) as the sex pheromone Which attracts virgin females to the sexually mature male Medflies. Why the protein hydrolysate volatiles attract the males and other species remains unanswered. 

The sexual response of adult males depends on both intrinsic and environmental factors. Males become responsive to the pheromone 6-9 days after adult emergence (Wharton et al, 1954 Hawkins and Rust, 1977). Antennation and erect body posture appear at the same hme during sexual maturation, followed by, in this order, increased locomotion, running, wing-raising, and abdominal extension (Silverman,... 

In addition to 3,1 l-dimethylnonacosan-2-one (M12) and 3,1 l-dimethylheptacosan-2-one, products of u>-oxidation, that is, 29-hydroxy-3,ll-dimethylnonacosan-2-one and 19,27-dimethyl-28-oxononacosanal (M37) as well as the two corresponding C27 compounds are components of a multicomponent contact pheromone contained in the cuticula of sexually mature females of the German cockroach B. germanica932... 

Paralleling the findings for crabs, Stebbing et al. (2003) demonstrated that sexually mature female crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, released a pheromone that stimulated mating behavior in males. If water conditioned by mature females was passed through an air-stone into containers holding males, these males commonly seized, mounted, and in a few cases deposited spermatophores onto the air-stones. Such behaviors did not occur if the air-stones carried water conditioned by immature females or control water that had not held crayfish (see also Chap. 13). 

Sorensen PW, Pinillos M, Scott AP (2005) Sexually mature male goldfish release large quantities of androstenedione into the water where it functions as a pheromone. Gen Comp Endocrinol 140 164-175... 

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