ArticleNature communications2016
A hormone-related female anti-aphrodisiac signals temporary infertility and causes sexual abstinence to synchronize parental care.
Article in Nature communications, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Thermal Stress Has Size-Dependent but Not Sex-Specific Effects on Mortality in an Insect Model.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Preparing for parenthood: molecular reprogramming precedes parenting in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides.Frontiers in zoology · 2026Article
- Conserved cellular signals and mechanisms accompany the reproductive shutdown of honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens for dispersal.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Convergent evolution of a conserved molecular network underlies parenting and sociality.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- Maternal Pheromone Emission During Biparental Care: Evidence for Consistent Individual Differences and Links to Terminal Investment.Journal of chemical ecology · 2026Article
- Mating strategy does not affect the diversification of abdominal chemicals in Heliconiini butterflies.Chemoecology · 2025Article
- Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae).Ecology and evolution · 2024Review
- Olfactory Mating Signals in the Migratory Locust Locusta migratoria.Journal of chemical ecology · 2024Article
- Widow spiders alter web architecture and attractiveness in response to same-sex competition for prey and mates, and predation risk.Communications biology · 2023Article
- Brood size, food availability, and body size affects male care decisions and offspring performance.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Differential gene expression underlying the biosynthesis of Dufour's gland signals inCurrent research in insect science · 2023Article
- Aggregation pheromone 4-vinylanisole promotes the synchrony of sexual maturation in female locusts.eLife · 2022Article
- A Gland of Many Uses: a Diversity of Compounds in the Labial Glands of the Bumble Bee Bombus impatiens Suggests Multiple Signaling Functions.Journal of chemical ecology · 2022Article
- Sex-specific influence of communal breeding experience on parenting performance and fitness in a burying beetle.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
- The genetic mechanism of selfishness and altruism in parent-offspring coadaptation.Science advances · 2020Article
- Article
- Do Bumble Bees Produce Brood Pheromones?Journal of chemical ecology · 2019Article
- Beetles as Model Organisms in Physiological, Biomedical and Environmental Studies - A Review.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Review
- Pheromones Regulating Reproduction in Subsocial Beetles: Insights with References to Eusocial Insects.Journal of chemical ecology · 2018Review
- Divergent coevolutionary trajectories in parent-offspring interactions and discrimination against brood parasites revealed by interspecific cross-fostering.Royal Society open science · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The high energetic demand of parental care requires parents to direct their resources towards the support of existing offspring rather than investing into the production of additional young. However, how such a resource flow is channelled appropriately is poorly understood. In this study, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of the physiological mechanisms coordinating parental and mating effort in an insect exhibiting biparental care. We show a hormone-mediated infertility in female burying beetles during the time the current offspring is needy and report that this temporary infertility is communicated via a pheromone to the male partner, where it inhibits copulation. A shared pathway of hormone and pheromone system ensures the reliability of the anti-aphrodisiac. Female infertility and male sexual abstinence provide for the concerted investment of parental resources into the existing developing young. Our study thus contributes to our deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptive parental decisions.
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