Olfactory sensitivity and specificity of Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, to a putative male pheromone, prostaglandin F sub(2 alpha )
Actively spawning male Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, release immunoreactive F-prostaglandins into the water that attract ovulated females and elicit spawning behaviour. To investigate a possible role played by the olfactory system, we determined the sensitivity and specificity of the char to pros...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Physiology & behavior 2000-05, Vol.69 (3), p.301-307 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Actively spawning male Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, release immunoreactive F-prostaglandins into the water that attract ovulated females and elicit spawning behaviour. To investigate a possible role played by the olfactory system, we determined the sensitivity and specificity of the char to prostaglandins by the electro-olfactogram (EOG) using a newly devised stimulatory apparatus. Of 18 prostaglandins tested, PGF sub(2 alpha ) and two synthetic analogues, 16,16-dimethyl-PGF sub(2 alpha ) and U-46619, were detected at threshold concentrations of 0.5-1.0 x 10 super(-11) M, and at a concentration of 10 super(-8) M evoked an EOG response equivalent to that of 10 super(-5) M L-serine. Olfactory nerve twig recordings further demonstrated that the EOG responses were transduced into nerve impulses and transmitted to the brain. No difference was found in the responses between sexes and maturational stages. We conclude that PGF sub(2 alpha ) is a candidate of the male pheromone of Arctic char, supporting our previous behavioural studies. |
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ISSN: | 0031-9384 |