School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jun 29;107(26):11859-64. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1006074107. Epub 2010 Jun 14.
Steroids play fundamental roles regulating mammalian reproduction and development. Although sex steroids and their receptors are well characterized in vertebrates and several arthropod invertebrates, little is known about the hormones and receptors regulating reproduction in other invertebrate species. Evolutionary insights into ancient endocrine pathways can be gained by elucidating the hormones and receptors functioning in invertebrate reproduction. Using a combination of genomic analyses, receptor imaging, ligand identification, target elucidation, and exploration of function through receptor knockdown, we now show that comparable progesterone chemoreception exists in the invertebrate monogonont rotifer Brachionus manjavacas, suggesting an ancient origin of the signal transduction systems commonly associated with the development and integration of sexual behavior in mammals.
甾体激素在调节哺乳动物的生殖和发育方面起着至关重要的作用。尽管性甾体激素及其受体在脊椎动物和几种节肢动物无脊椎动物中得到了很好的描述，但对于其他无脊椎动物物种中调节生殖的激素和受体知之甚少。通过阐明在无脊椎动物生殖中起作用的激素和受体，可以深入了解古老的内分泌途径。我们现在使用基因组分析、受体成像、配体鉴定、靶标阐明以及通过受体敲低探索功能的组合方法，表明在无脊椎动物单巢轮虫 Brachionus manjavacas 中存在类似的孕酮化学感受，这表明与哺乳动物性行为的发育和整合相关的信号转导系统具有古老的起源。
