Stud of the receptive and processing system to newt pheromones

• Project/Area Number: 26440179
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Animal physiology/Animal behavior
• Research Institution: Nara Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Toyoda Fumiyo 奈良県立医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (10244708)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): HASUNUMA Itaru 東邦大学, 理学部, 講師 (40434261) ; NAKADA Tomoaki 日本獣医生命科学大学, 獣医学部, 講師 (50549566)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,940,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,140,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
• Keywords: フェロモン / アカハライモリ / プロラクチン / 性ステロイド / 性フェロモン / ペプチドフェロモン / ホルモン / ペプチド / ステロイド / 性ホルモン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Sodefrin, a male newt pheromone elevates Ca2+ in the female vomeronasal cells.　The elevation of Ca2+in response to sodefrin is sex- and hormone (i.e. prolactin and estradiol）-dependent. Two steroidal substances, pregnenolone and androstenedione excreted from the male abdominal gland were revealed to exert a female-attracting activity and a considerable electro-olfactogram response in the vomeronasal epithelium in the sexually developed females, synergistically with sodefrin. We found that a tripeptide is secreted by the ciliary cells in the epithelium of the proximal portion of the oviduct of sexually developed males and confirmed that this is the major active substance in water in which sexually developed female newts have been kept. This substance only attracted sexually developed male newts and acted by stimulating the vomeronasal epithelial cells. This is the first female sexual attractiveness peptide pheromone to be identified in a vertebrate.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Imorin: a sexual attractiveness pheromone in female red-bellied newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster). (2017)
  • Author(s): Nakada, T., Toyoda, F., Matsuda, K., Nakakura, T., Hasunuma, I., Yamamoto, K., Onoue, S., Yokosuka, M. and Kikuyama, S.
  • Journal Title: Scientific Reports Volume: - Issue: 1 Pages: 41334-41334
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep41334
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Possible hormonal interaction for eliciting courtship behavior in the male newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster (2015)
  • Author(s): Toyoda, F., Hasunuma, I., Nakada, T., Haraguchi, S., Tsutsui, K., Kikuyama, S.
  • Journal Title: General and Comparative Endocrinology Volume: 224 Pages: 96-103
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.06.016
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] イモリ性行動発現とフェロモン作用の内分泌調節 (2015)
  • Author(s): 豊田ふみよ
  • Journal Title: 日本味と匂学会誌 Volume: 22 Pages: 125-130
  • Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Expression of G proteins in the olfactory receptor neurons of the new, Cynops pyrrhogaster: Their unique projection into the olfactory bulbs (2014)
  • Author(s): Nakada T, Hagino-Yamagishi K, Nakanishi K, Yokosuka M, Saito TR, Toyoda F, Hasunuma I, Nakakura T, Kikuyama S
  • Journal Title: Journal of comparative neurology Volume: 印刷中 Issue: 15 Pages: 19-19
  • DOI: 10.1002/cne.23619
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] アカハライモリ雄誘引物質に対する鋤鼻上皮細胞の感受性の性およびホルモン依存症 (2016)
  • Author(s): 豊田ふみよ、中田友明、松田恒平、中倉敬, 蓮沼至, 山本和俊, 菊山榮
  • Organizer: 第41回日本比較内分泌学会大会およびシンポジウム
  • Place of Presentation: 相模原市
  • Year and Date: 2016-12-10
• [Presentation] 両生類の求愛・性行動とホルモン (2016)
  • Author(s): 豊田ふみよ
  • Organizer: 第41回日本比較内分泌学会大会およびシンポジウム
  • Place of Presentation: 相模原市
  • Year and Date: 2016-12-10
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Abdominal gland-derived steroids in the newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster may act as pheromones (2016)
  • Author(s): Toyoda F, Nakada T, Haraguchi S, Yamamoto K, Tsutsui K, Kikuyama S.
  • Organizer: 第39回日本神経科学大会
  • Place of Presentation: 横浜市
  • Year and Date: 2016-07-23
• [Presentation] Possible hormonal interaction for eliciting courtship behavior in the male newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster (2015)
  • Author(s): Toyoda, F., Hasunuma, I., Nakada, T., Haraguchi, S., Tsutsui, K., Kikuyama, S.
  • Organizer: 日本比較内分泌学会第40回大会・日本比較生理生化学会第37回大会
  • Place of Presentation: JMS アステールプラザ・広島
  • Year and Date: 2015-12-11
• [Presentation] Hormonal control of population of vomeronasal sodefrin-receptive Gα0 cells in the female newt. (2015)
  • Author(s): Nakada, T., Toyoda, F., Hasunuma, I., Kikuyama, S
  • Organizer: 日本比較内分泌学会第40回大会・日本比較生理生化学会第37回大会
  • Place of Presentation: JMS アステールプラザ・広島
  • Year and Date: 2015-12-11
• [Presentation] Sequence analysis of the 5’-fklanking region of sodefrin gene. (2015)
  • Author(s): Komiya, M., Najkada, T., Toyoda, F., Yamamoto, K,, Kikuyama, S.
  • Organizer: 日本比較内分泌学会第40回大会・日本比較生理生化学会第37回大会
  • Place of Presentation: JMS アステールプラザ・広島
  • Year and Date: 2015-12-11
• [Presentation] 雄イモリ腹腺由来の雌誘引ステロイドの作用部位 (2015)
  • Author(s): 1.豊田ふみよ、蓮沼至、中田友明、原口省吾、筒井和義、菊山榮
  • Organizer: 日本動物学会第86回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 新潟コンベンションセンター・新潟
  • Year and Date: 2015-09-17
• [Presentation] アカハライモリ脳内細胞分裂におよぼすプロラクチンの影響 (2015)
  • Author(s): 大和田孝祐、豊田ふみよ、山本和俊、菊山榮、蓮沼至
  • Organizer: 日本動物学会第86回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 新潟コンベンションセンター・新潟
  • Year and Date: 2015-09-17
• [Presentation] イモリの性フェロモンの分化～フェロモンにも方言がある～” (2015)
  • Author(s): 中田友明、豊田ふみよ、菊山榮
  • Organizer: 日本動物学会第86回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 新潟コンベンションセンター・新潟
  • Year and Date: 2015-09-17
• [Presentation] Possible hormonal interaction for eliciting courtship behavior in the male newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster (2015)
  • Author(s): Toyoda, F., Hasunuma, I., Nakada, T., Haraguchi, S., Tsutsui, K., Kikuyama, S.
  • Organizer: 日本神経科学学会第38回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 神戸コンベンションセンター・神戸
  • Year and Date: 2015-07-28
• [Presentation] Involvement of multiple hormones in the courtship behavior in the male newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster (2014)
  • Author(s): Toyoda, F., Hasunuma, I., Nakada, T., Haraguchi, S., Tsutsui, K., and Kikuyama, S.
  • Organizer: 8th International Symposium on Amphibian and Reptilian Endocrinology and Neurobiology
  • Place of Presentation: Okazaki Conference Center （愛知県岡崎市）
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-07 – 2014-11-09
• [Presentation] Arginine vasotocin receptors in the amphibian brain and pituitary (2014)
  • Author(s): Hasunuma, I., Toyoda, F., Okada, R.,Yamamoto, K., Iwamuro, S., Kikuyama, S
  • Organizer: 8th International Symposium on Amphibian and Reptilian Endocrinology and Neurobiology
  • Place of Presentation: Okazaki Conference Center （愛知県岡崎市）
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-07 – 2014-11-09
• [Presentation] Newt olfactory receptor neurons: Expression of G proteins and projection to the olfactory bulbs (2014)
  • Author(s): Nakada,T., Hagino-Yamagishi, K.,Nakanishi, K., Yokosuka, M.,Saito,T.R.,Toyoda,F., Hasunuma,I., Nakakura, T., and Kikuyama, S.
  • Organizer: 8th International Symposium on Amphibian and Reptilian Endocrinology and Neurobiology
  • Place of Presentation: Okazaki Conference Center （愛知県岡崎市）
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-07 – 2014-11-09
• [Presentation] イモリ性行動発現とフェロモン作用の内分泌調節 (2014)
  • Author(s): 豊田ふみよ
  • Organizer: 日本味と匂学会第４８回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 清水文化会館マリナート（静岡県静岡市）
  • Year and Date: 2014-10-02 – 2014-10-04
• [Presentation] プロラクチンとエストロジェンによる雌イモリ嗅感覚上皮の組織学的変化 (2014)
  • Author(s): 中田友明、中西功毅、横須賀誠、豊田ふみよ、菊山榮
  • Organizer: 日本味と匂学会第４８回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 清水文化会館マリナート（静岡県静岡市）
  • Year and Date: 2014-10-02 – 2014-10-04
• [Book] 自然科学のためのはかる百科、第３章第8項 (2016)
  • Author(s): 豊田ふみよ、関隆晴
  • Total Pages: 10
  • Publisher: 丸善出版
• [Book] ホルモンから見た生命現象と進化シリーズIV、求愛・性行動と脳の性分化―愛― 第３章 (2016)
  • Author(s): 豊田ふみよ
  • Total Pages: 20
  • Publisher: 裳華房
• [Book] 「ホルモンから見た生命現象と進化」シリーズIV「求愛・性行動と脳の性分化」-第3章 (2016)
  • Author(s): 豊田ふみよ
  • Total Pages: 130
  • Publisher: 裳華房