Reproductive pheromones

The demonstration of this behavioural response to a male pheromone signal is significant because of the manner in which the pheromone was delivered. Most other vertebrate examples of reproductive pheromones involve reception via the olfactory system(s). In contrast, D. ocoee females received the pheromone via diffusion through the dorsal skin. We assume that the well developed superficial capillary system of these lungless salamanders is the route by which the male pheromone was transported to whatever target tissue(s) initiated responses that affected female reproductive behaviour. 

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that SPF, a single protein within the 20-25 kDa pheromone fraction, is responsible for female behavioural response. First, this major protein component within the D. ocoee fraction was genetically very similar to the precursor of sodefrin (Palmer, Watts, Houck, Picard and Arnold 2007), and sodefrin is a known reproductive pheromone in newts (Kikuyama, Toyoda, Ohmiya, Matsuda, Tanaka and Hayashi 1995 Kikuyama and Toyoda 1999). Second, a separate study showed that the cDNA library of proteins expressed in male D. ocoee mental glands contained a high proportion (25%) of... 

Singer AG, Macrides F, Agosta WC (1980) Chemical studies of hamster reproductive pheromones. In Muller-Schwarze D, Silverstein RM (eds) Chemical signals vertebrates and aquatic invertebrates. Plenum, New York, p 365... 

In some cases, commercial use has been made of reproductive pheromonal effects. For example, spraying sows with synthetic 5a-androstenone, a steroid sold under the trade name Boar Mate, helps to ready the animal for mating with a boar. 5a-Androstenone is one of two steroids in the saliva of the boar that primes the sow for mating. 

Reproductive pheromones are powerful isolating agents between species, as is well known for insects such as moths and drosophilas (Wyatt, 2003). 

Stacey NE, Sorensen PW (2006) Reproductive pheromones. Fish Physiol 24 359-412... 

Stacey NE, Sorensen P (2006) Reproductive pheromones. In Sloman KA, Balshine S, Wilson RI (eds) Behaviour and physiology of fish. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 359 112... 

Stacey, N.E., Kyle, A.L. Liley, N.R. 1986. Fish reproductive pheromones. In Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 4 (Ed. by D. Duvall, D. Muller-Schwarze R.M. Silverstein), pp 117—134. New York Plenum Press. 

Dominic, C.J. 1966. Observation on the reproductive pheromones of mice. II. Neuro-endocrine mechanisms involved in the olfactory block to pregnancy. J. Reprod. Fertil., 11, 415—421. 

Singer, A. G., Macrides, F., and Agosta, W. C., 1980, Chemical studies of hamster reproductive pheromones, in "Chemical Signals Vertebrates and Aquatic Invertebrates," D. Muller-Schwarze, and R. M. Silverstein, eds.. Plenum Press, New York. 

SOURCES AND CHEMICAL NATURE OF FISH REPRODUCTIVE PHEROMONES... 

Despite the considerable observational and experimental evidence for the existence of reproductive pheromones in fish, less is known concerning the sites of pheromone production, while only in a few cases have the chemical identities of fish reproductive pheromones been proposed. This is unfortunate, for a better understanding of the origins and chemical natures of fish reproductive pheromones will not only allow a much greater sophistication in the experimental analysis of pheromone function, but can also be expected to provide insight into the evolutionary development of chemical communication systems in fish. 

Generally, sexual activity in fish is restricted to a brief period in the adult lifespan. This restriction is most obvious in females, where sexual activity in oviparous species occurs for only a short period (hours or days) after ovulation. As the primary function of most reproductive pheromones in fish is evidently to attract and stimulate sexual arousal in potential conspecific partners, it is to be expected that pheromone production should be synchronized with transient episodes of sexual competence, and that these processes might share common regulatory mechanisms. 

Olfaction is thought to be the dominant chemosensory modality by which reproductive pheromones are detected in fish, although there is evidence that taste mechanisms are involved in some species (Liley,... 

Brett, B. L. H., and Grosse, D. J., 1982, A reproductive pheromone in the Mexican Poeciliid fish Poecilia chica, Copeia, 219 ... 

Why is it worth distinguishing courtship pheromones from other reproductive pheromones ... 

Bruce, H. M., 1965, Effect of castration on the reproductive pheromones of male mice, J. Reprod. Fert., 10 141. 

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