Male courtship pheromones increase female receptivity in a plethodontid salamander

Houck, Lynne D.; Reagan, Nancy

doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(05)80384-7

Cited by 127 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Given that the spines also cause wounds on the female's chest, we hypothesize that the secreted molecules can seep directly into the female's circulatory system. Most vertebrates use olfactory and vomeronasal signal transduction in chemical communication (Brennan and Zufall, 2006), and such a direct delivery of protein pheromones into the circulatory system is only known from some species of plethodontid salamanders (Houck and Reagan, 1990). Males of several plethodontid species develop hypertrophied premaxillary teeth and a sexually dimorphic mental gland during the breeding season, which they use to rub their pheromones into the female skin (Houck and Reagan, 1990).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This indicates that nuptial pads may also synthesize chemical signals involved in courtship and mating. Moreover, pheromones produced in the mental glands of some plethodontid salamanders are delivered transdermally (Houck and Reagan, 1990). This is particularly interesting because inspection of Rana females directly after egg laying shows that the ventral skin is often abraded at the site where the male's spiny nuptial pads have been holding them (Fig.1B), leaving the possibility of a similar way of delivering chemical signals in anurans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Frog nuptial pads secrete mating season-specific proteins related to salamander pheromones

Willaert

Bossuyt

Janssenswillen

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYMales of many frog species develop spiny nuptial pads with underlying glands on their thumbs during the mating period. We used 3D visualization on the European common frog Rana temporaria to show that the morphology of these glands allows the channelling of secreted molecules to the pad's surface during amplexus. Combined transcriptome and proteome analyses show that proteins of the Ly-6/uPAR family, here termed amplexins, are highly expressed in the nuptial glands during the mating season, but are totally absent outside that period. The function of amplexins remains unknown, but it is interesting to note that they share structural similarities with plethodontid modulating factors, proteins that influence courtship duration in salamanders. Supplementary material available online at

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frog nuptial pads secrete mating season-specific proteins related to salamander pheromones

Willaert

Bossuyt

Janssenswillen

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…T. alpestris; Zajc & Arntzen 1999) develop no or relatively small and invariant crests during the breeding season and exhibit courtship behaviours that lack many of the strong vigour signals used by T. vulgaris and T. cristatus (Arntzen & Sparreboom 1989). Males of all Triturus species deliver chemical signals to females during courtship (Arnold & Houck 1982;Malacarne & Giacoma 1986), which include pheromones that attract females (Malacarne & Vellano 1987;Houck & Reagan 1990 (Penn & Potts 1999). It is conceivable, then, that males of Triturus species that do not rely heavily on strong phenotypic cues signal their suitability as mates more strongly through chemical signals that enable mate choice for genetic compatibility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relatedness, body size and paternity in the alpine newt,Triturus alpestris

Garner

Schmidt²

2003

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Sexual selection has traditionally been investigated assuming that male quality is as skewed as patterns of male reproductive success can sometimes be. Recently, female choice has been investigated under the model of genetic compatibility, which assumes that each individual female has her own 'best' mate and there is no overall optimal choice for all females. We investigated female mate choice in the newt species Triturus alpestris, a member of a genus where female choice has been investigated only within the context of the optimal male (female choice for condition-dependent traits). We provided females with two males that differed in one condition-dependent trait (body size) and overall genetic composition. Both male body size and female body size did not influence paternity, but the degree of genetic relatedness between females and potential mates did. Two components of fitness (fecundity and hatching success) did not differ between singly and multiply sired clutches, indicating that females do not employ polyandry as a means of increasing offspring fitness through genetic bet-hedging. Instead, we hypothesize that females may mate initially for fertility assurance, but prefer less-related males as the most genetically compatible mates.

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“…Es importante considerar otros factores que pudieran tener efectos sobre la reproducción de estas especies, por ejemplo, individuos de A. opacum confinados en laboratorio mostraron niveles relativamente bajos de los andrógenos Testosterona (T) y Dihidrotestosterona (DHT) en el plasma y niveles altos de corticosteroides asociados al estrés del cautiverio, lo que se considera altera la reproducción de esta especie (Zerani et al 1991, Houck et al 1996. Para mejorar el éxito reproductivo en estas especies se deberán considerar también los efectos de la selección sexual y la conducta reproductora, de importancia para los Urodelos (Houck & Reagan 1990, Houck & Arnold 2003.…”

Section: Resultsunclassified

Reproducción ex situ en Ambystoma Granulosum y Ambystoma Lermaense (Amphibia: Ambystomatidae)

Aguilar-Miguel¹,

Legorreta²,

Casas-Andreu³

2009

AZM

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RESUMEN:Los anfibios están desapareciendo a nivel mundial. Varias especies se han perdido y miles más están en peligro de extinción. De las especies que están amenazadas, varias no se pueden proteger en su medio natural, por lo que es urgente realizar acciones de conservación ex situ que aseguren su preservación. Ambystoma granulosum y Ambystoma lermaense, son especies prioritarias para iniciar esta estrategia de conservación, ya que son especies endémicas de México y con un estatus de conservación preocupante. Ambas especies han sido poco estudiadas, por lo que en este estudio se investigaron, los aspectos reproductivos que son vitales para la conservación, logrando reproducir a la especie en condiciones de laboratorio de manera natural o espontánea, o por la estimulación hormonal con Gonadotropina Coriónica (hCG). Los resultados obtenidos nos indican que no existen diferencias significativas en la morfología de machos y hembras en ambas especies, excepto por el engrosamiento de la región cloacal en los machos. El ciclo reproductivo es anual y sincrónico en machos y hembras, con actividad máxima entre los meses de mayo a septiembre. Las puestas en parejas sin inducción hormonal fue variable con promedio de 664 ± 325 (DE) huevos y el porcentaje de fecundidad fue de 40 al 90%. En parejas de Ambystoma granulosum con inducción de hCG se obtuvieron nueve puestas variables entre 17 y 1182 huevos. En parejas de A. lermaense inducidos, se obtuvieron 16 puestas, las que variaron entre 110 y 1691 huevos. La fertilidad de los huevos inducidos fue muy variable analizándose posibles causas. Palabras clave: Ambystoma; Ambystoma granulosum; Ambystoma lermaense; reproducción; inducción hormonal con hCG. Recibido: 27/02/2007; aceptado: 11/05/2009.

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Male courtship pheromones increase female receptivity in a plethodontid salamander

Cited by 127 publications

References 16 publications

Frog nuptial pads secrete mating season-specific proteins related to salamander pheromones

Frog nuptial pads secrete mating season-specific proteins related to salamander pheromones

Relatedness, body size and paternity in the alpine newt,Triturus alpestris

Reproducción ex situ en Ambystoma Granulosum y Ambystoma Lermaense (Amphibia: Ambystomatidae)

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