Prostaglandin F_2α drives female pheromone signaling in cichlids, revealing a basis for evolutionary divergence in olfactory signaling.

ABSTRACT: Pheromones play essential roles in reproduction in many species. Prostaglandin F_2α (PGF_2α) acts as a female reproductive hormone and as a sex pheromone in some species. An olfactory receptor (OR) for PGF_2α was recently discovered in zebrafish, but this signaling pathway is evolutionarily labile. To understand the evolution of signals that attract males to fertile females, we used the African cichlid Astatotilapia burtoni and found that adult males strongly prefer fertile female odors. Injection of a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor abolishes this attractivity of fertile females, indicating these hormones are necessary for pheromonal signaling. Unlike zebrafish, A. burtoni males are insensitive to PGF_2α, but they do exhibit strong p

SUBMITTER: Li CY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9910499 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature