Androgen Induces Production of Male Effect Pheromone in Female Goats

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  • KAKUMA Yoshie
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo Department of Animal Sciences, Teikyo University of Science and Technology
  • ICHIMARU Toru
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo
  • YONEZAWA Tomohiro
    Laboratories of Veterinary Physiology, The University of Tokyo
  • MOMOZAWA Yukihide
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo
  • HASHIZUME Chie
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo
  • IWATA Eri
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo
  • KIKUSUI Takefumi
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo
  • TAKEUCHI Yukari
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo
  • OHKURA Satoshi
    Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences
  • OKAMURA Hiroaki
    Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences
  • MORI Yuji
    Laboratories of Veterinary Ethology, The University of Tokyo

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Abstract

Previously we showed that the primer pheromone responsible for the "male effect" was produced in specific skin regions of castrated male goats by androgen treatments. In the present study, we examined whether androgen can also induce production of the male effect pheromone in female goats. Capsules containing dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or testosterone (T) were subcutaneously implanted into six ovariectomized (OVX) goats for 28 days. Small skin samples were collected from the head and rump regions, and the pheromone activity of their ether extracts was examined using a bioassay that monitors the electrophysiological manifestation of the hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulse generator as multiple-unit activity. Behaviors of OVX goats towards ovary-intact estrous goats were also examined before and at the end of DHT or T treatment. Before androgen treatment, neither the head nor rump skin samples in OVX goats showed pheromone activity. DHT treatment induced pheromone activity in the head skin sample of six OVX goats and in the rump skin sample of two OVX goats. Similar results were obtained by T treatment. In addition, OVX goats treated with T showed masculine-type sexual behaviors such as courtship and mounting behaviors towards the estrous goats. These results demonstrate that androgen is capable of inducing primer pheromone activity in the female and suggest that the synthesis pathway of the male effect pheromone exists in both sexes in the goat.<br>

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