Yambe Hidenobu, Kitamura Shoji, Kamio Michiya, Yamada Miho, Matsunaga Shigeki, Fusetani Nobuhiro, Yamazaki Fumio
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Oct 17;103(42):15370-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0604340103. Epub 2006 Oct 9.
Many animals employ sex pheromones to find mating partners during their reproductive seasons. However, most sex pheromones of vertebrates remain to be identified. Over the past 20 years, steroids and prostaglandins have been identified as sex pheromones in several fishes. These pheromones are broadly termed "hormonal pheromones" because they or their precursors act as hormones in these fishes. Hitherto, no other type of sex pheromone has been unambiguously identified in teleost fish. Here we report the identification of a "nonhormonal pheromone" in teleost fish. The urine of the reproductively mature female masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) contains a male-attracting pheromone. Bioassay-guided fractionation yielded an active compound that was identical to L-kynurenine in spectral and chromatographic properties. L-Kynurenine is a major metabolite of L-tryptophan in vertebrates. This pheromone elicits a male-specific behavior at even picomolar concentrations; its electrophysiological threshold is 10(-14) M. L-Kynurenine is a reasonable substance for female masu salmon to advertise their readiness for mating.
许多动物在繁殖季节利用性信息素来寻找交配对象。然而，脊椎动物的大多数性信息素仍有待确定。在过去20年里，类固醇和前列腺素已被确认为几种鱼类的性信息素。这些信息素被广泛称为“激素性信息素”，因为它们或其前体在这些鱼类中充当激素。迄今为止，在硬骨鱼中尚未明确鉴定出其他类型的性信息素。在此，我们报告在硬骨鱼中鉴定出一种“非激素性信息素”。生殖成熟的雌性马苏大麻哈鱼（Oncorhynchus masou）的尿液中含有一种吸引雄性的信息素。通过生物测定指导的分级分离得到一种活性化合物，其光谱和色谱性质与L-犬尿氨酸相同。L-犬尿氨酸是脊椎动物中L-色氨酸的主要代谢产物。这种信息素即使在皮摩尔浓度下也能引发雄性特异性行为；其电生理阈值为10(-14) M。L-犬尿氨酸是雌性马苏大麻哈鱼表明其准备交配的合理物质。
