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Extreme olfactory specificity of male goldfish to the preovulatory steroidal pheromone 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one

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Summary

  1. 1.

    To determine the specificity of the goldfish (Carassius auratus) olfactory system to the reproductive pheromone 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17α,20βP), and to determine if related sex steroids might also function as pheromones, electro-olfactogram (EOG) responses were recorded from mature male goldfish.

  2. 2.

    Of the 24 steroids tested, 17α,20βP was the most stimulatory. It had a detection threshold of 10−12 M and at a concentration of 10−8 M elicited an EOG response 3 times that elicited by 10−5 M L-serine

  3. 3.

    17α,20β,21-triol-4-pregnen-3-one, a metabolite of 17α,20βP, was the only other highly stimulatory steroid. Its threshold was 10−11 M.

  4. 4.

    In cross-adaptation experiments EOG responses to all 21-carbon steroids were inhibited during adaptation to 17α,20βP: responses to this pheromone are transduced by a single receptor/transduction mechanism.

  5. 5.

    To verify the biological relevance of EOG recording whole animal responsiveness was determined by measuring blood gonadotropin. When goldfish were placed into homogeneous steroid solutions endocrine responsiveness strongly correlated with EOG recording. However, when steroids were added to aquaria containing fish, responses were less specific indicating that transient wisps of steroids trigger endocrine responses.

  6. 6.

    Although the extreme sensitivity and specificity of the goldfish olfactory system to 17α,20βP gives it the potential to serve as a highly specific cue, realization of this potential is probably determined by the dynamics of pheromone exposure.

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Abbreviations

EOG :

electro-olfactogram

L-Ser :

L-serine

P :

progesterone

17αP :

17α-hydroxyprogesterone

17α,20βP :

17α,20β-dihydroxyprogesterone

17α,20β,21P :

17α,20β,21-trihydroxyprogesterone

A :

androstenedione

C19 :

19-carbon

C21 :

21-carbon

GtH :

gonadotropin

ANOVA :

analysis of variance

RIA :

radioimmunoassay

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Author notes

  1. Peter W. Sorensen

    Present address: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Avenue, 55108, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

  2. Toshiaki J. Hara

    Present address: Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, R3T 2N6, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Alberta, T6G 2E9, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Peter W. Sorensen, Toshiaki J. Hara, Norman E. Stacey & Joseph G. Dulka

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  1. Peter W. Sorensen
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  3. Norman E. Stacey
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  4. Joseph G. Dulka
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Sorensen, P.W., Hara, T.J., Stacey, N.E. et al. Extreme olfactory specificity of male goldfish to the preovulatory steroidal pheromone 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one. J Comp Physiol A 166, 373–383 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00204810

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