| Title: | Seasonal transfer and quantification of urinary estradiol in the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) |
| Author(s): | Greville LJ; Pollock T; Faure PA; Decatanzaro D; |
| Address: | "Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada. Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada. Electronic address: decatanz@mcmaster.ca" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.113321 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1095-6840 (Electronic) 0016-6480 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Growing evidence shows that sex steroids not only act within the individual whose glands produce them; they can also act on proximate conspecifics. Previous studies show that exogenous 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) can be absorbed both nasally and percutaneously, arriving in blood, neural, reproductive, and peripheral tissues. When male bats were injected with radiolabeled E(2) ((3)H-E(2)) and housed with females during the mating season, radioactivity was reliably measured in the females' tissues. The present study was designed to compare E(2) transfer from male to female bats at three time points in the annual reproductive cycle: spring (ovulation and fertilization), summer (maternal season), and autumn (mating season). Pairs of mature female bats were housed with a mature (3)H-E(2)-treated male (50?ª+muCi). Following 48?ª+h of communal housing, radioactivity was measured in the tissues of female bats. Higher levels of radioactivity were present in the uterus and other tissues during the spring and autumn seasons compared to the summer season. We also measured natural levels of bioactive, unconjugated E(2) in the urine of male bats using enzyme immunoassays, and found that it was present in all three seasons but at lower levels during the summer. Male-excreted E(2) could transfer to females within the close confines of a roost, potentially influencing their reproductive physiology and behavior. These results suggest increased E(2) transfer coincides with female reproduction, with urine as a likely vector. We suggest that sex steroid transfer among interacting individuals may explain several mammalian phenomena historically viewed as 'pheromonal'" |
| Keywords: | Animals Chiroptera/*genetics Estradiol/*urine Female Male Seasons Bats Eptesicus fuscus Estradiol Pheromone Steroid transfer Urinary steroids;Neuroscience; |
| Notes: | "MedlineGreville, Lucas J Pollock, Tyler Faure, Paul A deCatanzaro, Denys eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2019/11/17 Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2020 Jan 15; 286:113321. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.113321. Epub 2019 Nov 13" |
