TY - JOUR
T1 - Induction of copulatory behavior in Aplysia
T2 - Atrial gland factors mimic the excitatory effects of freshly deposited egg cordons
AU - Painter, Sherry D.
AU - Gustavson, Andrew R.
AU - Kalman, Vivian K.
AU - Nagle, Gregg T.
AU - Blankenship, James E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by NIH Grants NS22079 (S.D.P.), NS23169 (J.E.B.), and NS11255, and by NSF Grants BNS 85 17575 (G.T.N.) and BBS 87 11368. Ms. Marie Hall generously provided financial support for the Marine Biomedical Institute computer facilities utilized in these studies. We thank Mr. Jim Koppe and Ms. Brenda Kerr for help with the computer facilities, and Ms. Debbie Pavlu for help preparing the manuscript. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Sherry D. Painter, The Marine Biomedical Institute, 200 University Blvd., Galveston, TX 77550.
PY - 1989/3
Y1 - 1989/3
N2 - Egg laying in the marine mollusc Aplysia is induced and coordinated by peptide products of the egg-laying hormone (ELH) gene expressed in the neuroendocrine bag cells of the central nervous system. At least three structurally related genes, belonging to the ELH family but distinct from the ELH gene, are expressed in the atrial gland, an exocrine organ of unknown function that secretes into the oviduct of Aplysia. The experiments described in this report were designed to test the hypothesis that the atrial gland gene products serve a pheromonal function for the animal, coordinating reproductive behavior among individuals. Our studies showed that there was a significantly shorter latency to copulation when an Aplysia was paired with an animal that was actively laying eggs than when it was paired with a sexually mature but nonlaying animal. Moreover, the addition of extracts or homogenates of the atrial gland to the seawater surrounding two nonlaying animals reduced the latency to mating compared to animals exposed only to seawater or to homogenates of other regions of the reproductive tract, including oviduct. These results suggest that atrial gland products, secreted onto the egg cordon as it passes through the oviduct, may play a pheromonal role and induce mating behavior between individuals. Experiments are in progress to determine whether the active atrial gland factor(s) are products of the ELHfamily genes expressed in the gland.
AB - Egg laying in the marine mollusc Aplysia is induced and coordinated by peptide products of the egg-laying hormone (ELH) gene expressed in the neuroendocrine bag cells of the central nervous system. At least three structurally related genes, belonging to the ELH family but distinct from the ELH gene, are expressed in the atrial gland, an exocrine organ of unknown function that secretes into the oviduct of Aplysia. The experiments described in this report were designed to test the hypothesis that the atrial gland gene products serve a pheromonal function for the animal, coordinating reproductive behavior among individuals. Our studies showed that there was a significantly shorter latency to copulation when an Aplysia was paired with an animal that was actively laying eggs than when it was paired with a sexually mature but nonlaying animal. Moreover, the addition of extracts or homogenates of the atrial gland to the seawater surrounding two nonlaying animals reduced the latency to mating compared to animals exposed only to seawater or to homogenates of other regions of the reproductive tract, including oviduct. These results suggest that atrial gland products, secreted onto the egg cordon as it passes through the oviduct, may play a pheromonal role and induce mating behavior between individuals. Experiments are in progress to determine whether the active atrial gland factor(s) are products of the ELHfamily genes expressed in the gland.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0163-1047(89)90857-1
DO - 10.1016/S0163-1047(89)90857-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 2930434
AN - SCOPUS:0024632755
SN - 0163-1047
VL - 51
SP - 222
EP - 236
JO - Behavioral and Neural Biology
JF - Behavioral and Neural Biology
IS - 2
ER -