ArticlePLoS biology2019
Spermine in semen of male sea lamprey acts as a sex pheromone.
Article in PLoS biology, 2019. 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, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- A microbiome-derived olfactory signal regulates inter-male aggression and social dominance in mice.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- Structural analogs modulate olfactory and behavioral responses to a bile acid sex pheromone in sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2025Article
- Genome-wide identification, expression analysis of taars (trace amine-associated receptors) and response to cadaverine and putrescine in Mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi).BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Chemosensation of the pheromone spermine by the olfactory TAAR-like receptor TAAR348.Cell discovery · 2025Article
- Behavioral, Endocrine, and Neuronal Responses to Odors in Lampreys.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Review
- Male sea lamprey countersignal relative to their baseline pheromone but not the intensity of rivals' signals.Biology letters · 2025Article
- Male lake char release taurocholic acid as part of a mating pheromone.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- Non-targeted metabolomics aids in sex pheromone identification: a proof-of-concept study with the triangulate cobweb spider, Steatoda triangulosa.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Synergistic behavioral antagonists of a sex pheromone reduce reproduction of invasive sea lamprey.iScience · 2023Article
- Pheromone Perception in Fish: Mechanisms and Modulation by Internal Status.Integrative and comparative biology · 2023Review
- Odorant Receptor OR2C1 Is an Essential Modulator of Boar Sperm Capacitation by Binding with Heparin.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Gene transcriptional profiles in gonads of Bacillus taxa (Phasmida) with different cytological mechanisms of automictic parthenogenesis.Zoological letters · 2022Article
- Plasma metabolomic profiles reveal sex- and maturation-dependent metabolic strategies in sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2022Article
- Impact of starvation on paternal reproductive investment in Neoseiulus californicus.Experimental & applied acarology · 2022Article
- Evolution of Brain-Expressed Biogenic Amine Receptors into Olfactory Trace Amine-Associated Receptors.Molecular biology and evolution · 2022Article
- Assessment of Biostimulation Methods Based on Chemical Communication in Female Doe Reproduction.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Physiology, endocrinology and chemical communication in aggressive behaviour of fishes.Journal of fish biology · 2021Review
- Olfactory function in the trace amine-associated receptor family (TAARs) evolved twice independently.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Bile acid production is life-stage and sex-dependent and affected by primer pheromones in the sea lamprey.The Journal of experimental biology · 2021Article
- Olfactory signaling via trace amine-associated receptors.Cell and tissue research · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Semen is fundamental for sexual reproduction. The non-sperm part of ejaculated semen, or seminal plasma, facilitates the delivery of sperm to the eggs. The seminal plasma of some species with internal fertilization contains anti-aphrodisiac molecules that deter promiscuity in post-copulatory females, conferring fitness benefits to the ejaculating male. By contrast, in some taxa with external fertilization such as fish, exposure to semen promotes spawning behaviors. However, no specific compounds in semen have been identified as aphrodisiac pheromones. We sought to identify a pheromone from the milt (fish semen) of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), a jawless fish that spawns in lek-like aggregations in which each spermiating male defends a nest, and ovulatory females move from nest to nest to mate. We postulated that milt compounds signal to ovulatory females the presence of spawning spermiating males. We determined that spermine, an odorous polyamine initially identified from human semen, is indeed a milt pheromone. At concentrations as low as 10-14 molar, spermine stimulated the lamprey olfactory system and attracted ovulatory females but did not attract males or pre-ovulatory females. We found spermine activated a trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR)-like receptor in the lamprey olfactory epithelium. A novel antagonist to that receptor nullified the attraction of ovulatory females to spermine. Our results elucidate a mechanism whereby a seminal plasma pheromone attracts ready-to-mate females and implicates a possible conservation of the olfactory detection of semen from jawless vertebrates to humans. Milt pheromones may also have management implications for sea lamprey populations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.