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Pheromone
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A pheromone (from Greek f??? phero "to bear" + ‘??µ??? "hormone") is a chemical that triggers a natural behavioral response in another member of the opposite gender of the same species. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology.
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A pheromone (from Greek f??? phero "to bear" + ‘??µ??? "hormone") is a chemical that triggers a natural behavioral response in another member of the opposite gender of the same species. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented. In addition, some vertebrates and plants communicate by using pheromones.
Background
The term "pheromone" was introduced by Peter Karlson and Martin Lüscher in 1959, based on the Greek word pherein (to transport) and hormone (to stimulate). They are also classified as ecto-hormones. These chemical messengers are transported outside of the body and result in a direct developmental effect on hormone levels or behavioral change. They proposed the term to describe chemical signals from conspecifics which elicit innate behaviours soon after Butenandt characterized the first such chemical, Bombykol (a chemically well-characterized pheromone released by the female silkworm to attract mates).
Types
Aggregation pheromones
Aggregation pheromones function in defense against predators, mate selection, and overcoming host resistance by mass attack. A group of individuals at one location are referred as aggregation, whether consisting of one sex or both sexes. Male-produced sex attractant have been called aggregation pheromones, because they usually result in the arrival of both sexes at a calling site and increase in density of conspecifics surrounding of the pheromone source. Most sex pheromones produced by the females and small percentage of sex attractants are produced by males. Aggregation pheromones have been found in members of the Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Dictyoptera and Orthoptera. In recent decades, the importance of applying aggregation pheromones in the management of the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis ), stored product weevils (Sitophilus zeamais ), Sitophilus granarius, Sitophilus oryzae and pea and bean weevil (Sitona lineatus) has been demonstrated. Aggregation pheromones are among the most ecologically selective pest suppression methods. They are not toxic and they are effective at very low concentrations.
Alarm pheromones
Some species release a volatile substance when attacked by a predator that can trigger flight (in aphids) or aggression (in ants, bees, termites) in members of the same species. Pheromones also exist in plants: certain plants emit alarm pheromones when grazed upon, resulting in tannin production in neighboring plants. These tannins make the plants less appetizing for the herbivore.
Epideictic pheromones
Epideictic pheromones are different from territory pheromones, when it comes to insects. Fabre observed and noted how "females who lay their eggs in these fruits deposit these mysterious substances in the vicinity of their clutch to signal to other females of the same species they should clutch elsewhere."
Releaser pheromones
Releaser pheromones are powerful attractant molecules that some organisms may use to attract mates from a distance of two miles or more. This type of pheromone generally elicits a rapid response but is quickly degraded. In contrast, a primer pheromone has a slower onset and a longer duration. Ex. Rabbit (mothers) release mammary pheromones that trigger immediate nursing behavior by their babies.
Signal pheromones
Signal pheromones cause short term changes; such as, the neurotransmitter release which activates a response. For instance, GnRH molecule functions as a neurotransmitter in rats to elicit lordosis, which is a behavioral effect.
Primer pheromones
Primer pheromones trigger a change of developmental events (in which they differ from all the other pheromones, which trigger a change in behavior).
Territorial pheromones
Laid down in the environment, territorial pheromones mark the boundaries of an organism's territory. In dogs, these hormones are present in the urine, which they deposit on landmarks serving to mark the perimeter of the claimed territory.
Trail pheromones
Trail pheromones are common in social insects. For example, ants mark their paths with these pheromones, which are non-volatile hydrocarbons.
Certain ants lay down an initial trail of pheromones as they return to the nest with food. This trail attracts other ants and serves as a guide. As long as the food source remains, the pheromone trail will be continually renewed. The pheromone must be continually renewed because it evaporates quickly. When the supply begins to dwindle, the trail making ceases. In at least one species of ant, trails that no longer lead to food are also marked with a repellent pheromone.
Information pheromones
Information pheromones are indicative of an animal's identity or territory. For example, dogs and cats deposit chemicals in and around their territory, which then serve as an indicator for other members of the species about the presence of the occupant in that territory.
Sex pheromones
In animals, sex pheromones indicate the availability of the female for breeding. Male animals may also emit pheromones that convey information about their species and genotype. Many insect species release sex pheromones to attract a mate, and many lepidopterans (moths and butterflies) can detect a potential mate from as far away as 10 kilometers (6.25 mi). Traps containing pheromones are used by farmers to detect and monitor insect population in orchards. At the microscopic level, a gamete pheromone may provide a trail leading the opposite sex's gametes towards it to accomplish fertilization. Pheromones are also used in the detection of oestrus in sows. Boar pheromones are sprayed into the sty, and those sows which exhibit sexual arousal are known to be currently available for breeding. Sea urchins release pheromones into the surrounding water, sending a chemical message that triggers other urchins in the colony to eject their sex cells simultaneously.
Other pheromones
This classification, based on the effects on behavior, remains artificial. Pheromones fill many additional functions.
- Nasonov pheromones (worker bees)
- Royal pheromones (bees)
- Calming (appeasement) pheromones (mammals)
Uses
Animals
Pheromones of the pest insect species, such as the Japanese beetle and the gypsy moth, can be used to induce many behaviors. As a result, the pheromones can be used to trap pests for monitoring purposes, to control the population by creating confusion, to disrupt mating, as well as to prevent further egg laying.
In mammals and reptiles, pheromones may be detected by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), or Jacobson's organ, which lies between the nose and mouth and is the first stage of the accessory olfactory system. Some pheromones in these animals are detected by regular olfactory membranes.
Humans
Few well-controlled scientific studies have ever been published suggesting the possibility of pheromones in humans. The best known case involves the reported synchronization of menstrual cycles among women based on unconscious odor cues (the McClintock effect, named after the primary investigator, Martha McClintock, of the University of Chicago). This study exposed a group of women to a whiff of perspiration from other women. It was found that it caused their menstrual cycles to speed up or slow down depending on the time in the month the sweat was collected; before, during, or after ovulation. Therefore, this study proposed that there are two types of pheromone involved: "One, produced prior to ovulation, shortens the ovarian cycle; and the second, produced just at ovulation, lengthens the cycle". However recent studies and reviews of the McClintock methodology have called into question the validity of her results.
Other studies have suggested that people might be using odor cues associated with the immune system to select mates who are not closely related to themselves. Using a brain imaging technique, Swedish researchers have shown that homosexual and heterosexual males' brains respond differently to two odors that may be involved in sexual arousal, and that the homosexual men respond in the same way as heterosexual women, though it could not be determined whether this was cause or effect. The study was expanded to include homosexual women; the results were consistent with previous findings meaning that homosexual women were not as responsive to male identified odors, while their response to female cues was similar to heterosexual males. According to the researchers, this research suggests a possible role for human pheromones in the biological basis of sexual orientation.
Another study demonstrated that the smell of androstadienone, a chemical component of male sweat, maintains higher levels of cortisol in females. The scientists suggest that the ability of this compound to influence the endocrine balance of the opposite sex makes it a human pheromonal chemosignal. In 2002, a study published in the quarterly journal Physiology and Behavior showed an unnamed synthetic chemical in women's perfume appeared to increase intimate contact with men. The authors hypothesize, but do not demonstrate, that the observed behavioural differences are olfactory mediated.
In 2006, it was shown that a second mouse receptor sub-class is found in the olfactory epithelium. Called the trace amine-associated receptors (TAAR), some are activated by volatile amines found in mouse urine, including one putative mouse pheromone. Orthologous receptors exist in humans providing, the authors propose, evidence for a mechanism of human pheromone detection.
Some body spray advertisers claim that their products contain human sexual pheromones which act as an aphrodisiac. In the 1970's, "copulins" were patented as products which release human pheromones, based on research on rhesus monkeys. Subsequently, androstenone, axillary sweat, and "vomodors" have been claimed to act as human pheromones. Despite these claims, no pheromonal substance has ever been demonstrated to directly influence human behavior in a peer reviewed study.
See also
Further reading
- Kohl, JV., Atzmueller, M., Fink, B. & Grammer, K. (2001). Human Pheromones: Integrating Neuroendocrinology and Ethology. Neuroendocrinology Letters, 22(5), 319-331.
- Liberles, S.D., Buck, L.B. (2006). A second class of chemosensory receptors in the olfactory epithelium. Nature, 442, 645-50.
- McClintock, M.K. (1984). Estrous synchrony: modulation of ovarian cycle length by female pheromones. Physiological Behavior, 32, 701-705.
- Wilson, E. O., Bossert, W. H. (1963). Chemical communication among animals. Recent Progress in Hormone Research, 19, 673-716.
- Wyatt, Tristram D. (2003). Pheromones and Animal Behaviour: Communication by Smell and Taste. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-48526-6.
External links
- , the database of insect pheromones
- -- from UC Berkeley, February 2007
- -- from Science Daily, February 2007
- -- from Science Daily (March 2003)
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