pheromone

pher·o·mone

(fĕr'ə-mōn') pronunciation

n.
A chemical secreted by an animal, especially an insect, that influences the behavior or development of others of the same species, often functioning as an attractant of the opposite sex.

[Greek pherein, to carry + (HOR)MONE.]

pheromonal pher'o·mon'al adj.

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Any chemical compound secreted by an organism in minute amounts to elicit a particular reaction from other organisms of the same species. Pheromones are widespread among insects and vertebrates (except birds) and are present in some fungi, slime molds, and algae. The chemicals may be secreted by special glands or incorporated into other substances (e.g., urine), shed freely, or deposited in selected locations. Pheromones are used to bring creatures together (e.g., in termite, bee, and ant colonies), lead them to food (e.g., in scent trails laid by ants), signal danger (e.g., when released by wounded fish to alert others), attract a mate and elicit sexual behaviour (numerous examples, possibly including humans), and influence sexual development (in many mammals and certain insects). Alarm pheromones often last a shorter time and travel a shorter distance than other types. In vertebrates, chemical stimuli often influence parent-young responses. Sex-attractant pheromones are used in certain products to lure and trap unwanted or harmful insects.

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Word Overheard by Answers.com:

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Pheromones -- biological substances that influence sexual and other behaviors in animals and may do the same in humans -- are hot alt-click topics after a Swedish study found that the hypothalamus in a gay man's brain responds differently from that of other men to certain biological odors, and the same way a woman's does.

Posted May 11, 2005.

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McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia:

Pheromone

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A substance that acts as a molecular messenger, transmitting information from one member of a species to another member of the same species. A distinction is made between releaser pheromones, which elicit a rapid, behavioral response, and primer pheromones, which elicit a slower, developmental response and may pave the way for a future behavior.

Communication via pheromones is common throughout nature, including some eukaryotic microorganisms such as fungi that exchange vital chemical signals. The cellular slime molds form large aggregations of amebas which unite to form a sorocarp made up of a long, slender stalk that supports a spore-containing fruiting body. A pheromone is responsible for the aggregation. In several species of algae, relatively simple hydrocarbons act as sperm attractants.

By far the largest number of characterized pheromones come from insect species. In social insects, such as termites and ants, there may be as many as a dozen different types of messages that are used to coordinate the complex activities which must be carried out to maintain a healthy colony. These activities might require specialized pheromones such as trail pheromones (to lead to a food source), alarm pheromones (recruiting soldiers to the site of an enemy attack), or pheromones connected with reproductive behavior. Much less is known about mammalian pheromones because mammalian behavior is more difficult to study. There are, however, a small number of well-characterized mammalian pheromones from pigs, dogs, hamsters, mice, and marmosets.

There is great potential for controlling the behavior of a given species by manipulating its natural chemical signals. For example, pheromones have been used to disrupt the reproduction of certain insect pests. This approach can lead to reduced use of pesticides as well as advances in the control of both agricultural pests and disease vectors. See also Chemical ecology; Chemoreception; Insect control, biological; Social insects.

Oxford Companion to the Body:

pheromones

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Pheromones like hormones, are secretions that act as chemical signals. While hormones change the behaviour of target cells elsewhere in the body, pheromones are odours that ‘carry stimulation’ (from the Greek phero and horma) and change the behaviour of other creatures of the same species that pick up the scent. Pheromones are widespread in the animal world, from the single-celled amoeba to human beings. A classic example is the pheromone emitted by female gypsy moths, which can be detected by sensory receptors on the antennae of a male moth 1 Km or more away, enabling it to home in on the female. Unspayed female dogs can attract males from a similar distance. Ants have a ‘lexicon’ of different pheromones, which they use to elicit attacks on or flight from predators, to mark trails, and so on. Territorial mammals often mark their territory with pheromones in their urine, or rubbed on to ‘scenting posts’ from glands in their skin. There seems to be genetically determined variation of pheromones among individuals of some species, enabling them to recognize mates, offspring or intruders on their territory. Although humans appear to have lost much of the olfactory sensitivity of their mammalian ancestors, recent research suggests that body odours, not necessarily consciously perceived, play an important role in social interaction. Human sweat acquires a distinctive odour at puberty, but urine, as well as genital secretions, may also contain pheromones. The well-known synchronization of the menstrual cycles of nuns and girls at boarding school is probably mediated by odour, and there is evidence that smell enables mothers to distinguish their own children's clothing from that worn by others. Sexual preference is certainly influenced by smell: love may indeed be largely a matter of ‘chemistry’.

— Colin Blakemore

pheromones

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pheromones, any of a variety of substances, secreted by many animal species, that alter the behavior of individuals of the same species. Sex attractant pheromones, secreted by a male or female to attract the opposite sex, are widespread among insects. The pheromones produced by males include a substance produced by cockroaches that attracts females and orients them in the correct mating positions and a substance elaborated by the desert locust that accelerates sexual maturation in adults of both sexes. Male-attracting pheromones have been discovered in the females of many species of beetles, bees, and moths. The polyphemus moth will not mate unless red oak leaves are present; it has been found that the leaves give off a volatile aldehyde that stimulates the female to release a male-attracting pheromone. Attempts are being made to use pheromones in insect control, e.g., as bait to attract males to field traps or, in very high concentrations, to disorient insects and prevent mating.

Taylor's Dictionary for Gardeners:

pheromone

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A chemical released by an animal, particularly an insect, to communicate with other members of the same species. Synthetic pheromones are used to lure insects into traps or to disrupt mating habits.

Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Science:

pheromones

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(fer-uh-mohns)

Small molecules that, when released by one organism, act as chemical signals to induce a certain behavior in another organism. Scents that attract animals to each other in a mating process are an example of pheromones.

Wiley Dictionary of Flavors:

Pheromone

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Mostly detected through the vomeronasal organs, a pheromone can be a small molecule or a macromolecule with a low vapor pressure, but which can be detected at extremely low levels in the air. Pheromones are substances that elicit a response in the organism that secreted it or in another organism that detects it. In humans, the pheromone so far discovered is a complex and large molecule. It is chemically related to the hormone testosterone and is called androsterone. Androsterone has been identified as the human pheromone present in the urine. Androsterone is also the pheromone that is present in truffles and active as a sex pheromone in pigs, boars, and dogs. It is for this reason that dogs and boars are effective in hunting down truffle sites. Androsterone is a curious odor substance in that different people can perceive it differently. Some detect it as a fruity/grapey character, others as a camphoraceous or aromatic type, others as a urine-like or sexy/musky aroma, and still others cannot perceive it at all. The degree of perception is also quite varied. Some can detect it in very low concentrations. One example of the result of powerful pheromonal influences on our lives is the observation of coincidental menstrual cycles in women that work closely together. A recent fragrance, which used androsterone, was promoted as a possible sex attractant. See Androsterone, Vomeronasal Organ.

Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:

pheromone

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a substance, or characteristic mixture of substances, that is secreted and released by an organism and detected by a second organism of the same or a closely related species, in which it causes a specific reaction, such as a definite behavioural reaction or a developmental process; a type of ectocrine. The mating pheromones of fungi and insects are examples. Compare allomone, kairomone.

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Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:

pheromone

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A substance secreted to the outside of the body and perceived (as by smell) by other individuals of the same species, releasing specific behavior in the percipient.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'pheromones'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier

For a list of words related to pheromones, see:

Environment, Ecology, and Animal Behavior - pheromones: chemicals produced by one organism that influence behavior of another

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See words rhyming with "pheromone."

Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Pheromone

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Fanning honeybee exposes Nasonov gland (white-at tip of abdomen) releasing pheromone to entice swarm into an empty hive

A pheromone (from Greek φέρω phero "to bear" + hormone from Greek ὁρμή - "impetus") is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual.^[1] 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 sometimes classified as ecto-hormones. They were researched earlier by various scientists, including Jean-Henri Fabre, Joseph A. Lintner, Adolph Butenandt, and the prominent ethologist Karl von Frisch who called them various names like "alarm substances." These chemical messengers are transported outside of the body and result in a direct developmental effect on hormone levels or behavioral change.^[2] They proposed the term to describe chemical signals from conspecifics that elicit innate behaviors soon after the German Biochemist Adolf Butenandt characterized the first such chemical, bombykol (a chemically well-characterized pheromone released by the female silkworm to attract mates).^[3]

Limits

There are physical limits on the practical size of organisms employing pheromones, because at small sizes pheromone diffuses away from the source organism faster than it can be produced, and a sensible concentration accumulates too slowly to be useful. So bacteria are too small to use pheromones as sex attractants but do use them to determine the local population density of similar organisms and control behaviors that take more time to execute (quorum sensing). In similar manner, the simple animals rotifers are, it appears, also too small for females to lay down a useful trail, but in the slightly-larger copepods the female leaves a trail that the male can follow.^[4]

Types

Aggregation

Aggregation of bug nymphs

Aggregation pheromones function in defense against predators, mate selection, and overcoming host resistance by mass attack. A group of individuals at one location is referred to as an aggregation, whether consisting of one sex or both sexes. Male-produced sex attractants have been called aggregation pheromones, because they usually result in the arrival of both sexes at a calling site, and increase the density of conspecifics surrounding the pheromone source. Most sex pheromones are produced by the females and small percentage of sex attractants are produced by males.^[5] Aggregation pheromones have been found in members of the Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, 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 nontoxic and effective at very low concentrations.^[6]

Alarm

Some species release a volatile substance when attacked by a predator that can trigger flight (in aphids) or aggression (in ants, bees, termites)^[7] 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.^[8]

Epideictic

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

Releaser pheromones are pheromones that cause an alteration in the behavior of the recipient. For example, some organisms use powerful attractant molecules to attract mates from a distance of two miles or more. In general, this type of pheromone elicits a rapid response, but is quickly degraded. In contrast, a primer pheromone has a slower onset and a longer duration. For example, rabbit (mothers) release mammary pheromones that trigger immediate nursing behavior by their babies.^[9]

Signal

Signal pheromones cause short-term changes, such as the neurotransmitter release that activates a response. For instance, GnRH molecule functions as a neurotransmitter in rats to elicit lordosis behavior.^[10]

Primer

Primer pheromones trigger a change of developmental events (in which they differ from all the other pheromones, which trigger a change in behavior).

Territorial

Laid down in the environment, territorial pheromones mark the boundaries of an organism's territory. In cats and dogs, these hormones are present in the urine, which they deposit on landmarks serving to mark the perimeter of the claimed territory. In social seabirds, the preen gland is used to mark nests, nuptial gifts, and territory boundaries with behavior formerly described as 'displacement activity'.

Trail

Trail pheromones are common in social insects. For example, ants mark their paths with these pheromones, which are 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.^[11] As long as the food source remains, the pheromone trail will be continuously renewed. The pheromone must be continuously 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.^[12]

Information

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.^[9]

Sex

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.

At the microscopic level, male copepods can follow a three-dimensional pheromone trail left by a swimming female, and male gametes of many animals use a pheromone to help find a female gamete, for fertilization.^[13]

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 populations in orchards.

Pheromones are also used in the detection of oestrus in sows. Boar pheromones are sprayed into the sty, and those sows that 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

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)
Necromones, given off by a deceased and decomposing organism; consisting of oleic and linoleic acids, they allow crustaceans and hexapods to identify the presence of dead conspecifics.^[14]

Evolution

Pheromones have evolved in all animal phyla, to signal sex and dominance status, and are responsible for stereotypical social and sexual behaviour among members of the same species. In mammals, these chemical signals are believed to be detected primarily by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), a chemosensory organ located at the base of the nasal septum.^[15] The VNO is present in most amphibia, reptiles, and non-primate mammals but is absent in birds, adult catarrhine monkeys, and apes.^[16] An active role for the human VNO in the detection of pheromones is disputed; the VNO is clearly present in the foetus but appears to be atrophied or absent in adults. Three distinct families of putative pheromone receptors have been identified in the vomeronasal organ (V1Rs, V2Rs, and V3Rs). All are G protein-coupled receptors but are only distantly related to the receptors of the main olfactory system, highlighting their different role.^[15]

Uses

Non-human animals

For biological pest control, see Pheromone trap.

Pheromones of pest insect species, such as the Japanese beetle and the gypsy moth, can be used to induce many behaviors. As a result, a pheromone trap 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

The best-known case involves the 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).^[17]^[18] 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.^[19]

The VNO exists in humans but lacks sensory neurons and nerve bundles in the brain. The associated olfactory bulb is present in the fetus but regresses and vanishes in the adult brain. The genes associated with the organ are largely nonfunctional in humans. The loss of VNO means humans do not detect pheromones through this path.^[20]^:577

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.^[21] Orthologous receptors exist in humans providing, the authors propose, evidence for a mechanism of human pheromone detection.^[22]

Some body spray advertisers claim that their products contain human sexual pheromones that act as an aphrodisiac. In the 1970s, "copulins" were patented as products that release human pheromones, based on research on rhesus monkeys.^[23] Subsequent to this, androstenone, axillary sweat, and "vomodors" have been claimed to act as human pheromones.^[24] Despite these claims, no pheromonal substance has ever been demonstrated to directly influence human behavior in a peer reviewed study.^[23]^[24]^[25] The role of pheromones in human behavior remains speculative and controversial.^[26]^:191

References

^ http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12896
^ Kohl, J., Atzmueller, M., Fink, B. & Grammar, K. Human Pheromones: Integrative Neuroendocrinology & Ethology. NEL 22, 309-321.(2001)
^ Karlson P., Lüscher M. (1959). "Pheromones: a new term for a class of biologically active substances". Nature 183 (4653): 55–56. doi:10.1038/183055a0. PMID 13622694.
^ Dusenbery, David B. (2009). Living at Micro Scale, Chapter 19. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 978-0-674-03116-6.
^ https://www.msu.edu/user/miller20/carmona.htm
^ Landolt, J. P. 1997. Sex attractant and aggregation pheromones of male phytophagous insects. In American Entomologist Vol. 43- 1
^ Šobotník, J., Hanus, R., Kalinová, B., Piskorski, R., Cvačka, J., Bourguignon, T., Roisin, Y. (April 2008). "(E,E)-α-Farnesene, an Alarm Pheromone of the Termite Prorhinotermes canalifrons". Journal of Chemical Ecology 34 (4): 478–486. doi:10.1007/s10886-008-9450-2. PMID 18386097. http://www.springerlink.com/content/86l627g32132m157/?p=f59bab83a40442a6a5074441490b63ec&pi=5.
^ J.du P. Bothma, Game ranch management, fourth edition, Van Schaik publishers, 2002
^ ^a ^b Kimball, J.W. Pheromones. Kimball's Biology Pages. Sep 2008
^ Kohl, J., Atzmueller, M., Fink, B. & Grammar, K. Human Pheromones: Integrative Neuroendocrinology & Ethology. NEL 22, 309-321(2001).
^ "Excited ants follow pheromone trail of same chemical they will use to paralyze their prey". http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Feb98/antpheromone.hrs.html. Retrieved 2006-03-14.
^ "Study: Ants Use Scents Like Road Signs". http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20051128/ants.html. Retrieved 2006-03-14.
^ Dusenbery, David B. (2009). Living at Micro Scale, Chapters 19 & 20. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 978-0-674-03116-6.
^ Yao, M.; Rosenfeld, J.; Attridge, S.; Sidhu, S.; Aksenov, V.; Rollo, C.D.. "The Ancient Chemistry of Avoiding Risks of Predation and Disease". Evolutionary biology (Springer, Heidelberg, ALLEMAGNE) 36 (3): 267–281. doi:10.1007/s11692-009-9069-4. ISSN 00713260. http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s11692-009-9069-4. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Pantages E, Dulac C (2000). "A novel family of candidate pheromone receptors in mammals". Neuron 28 (3): 835–845. doi:10.1016/S0896-6273(00)00157-4. PMID 11163270.
^ Keverne EB (1999). "The vomeronasal organ". Science 286 (5440): 716–720. doi:10.1126/science.286.5440.716. PMID 10531049.
^ McClintock MK (January 1971). "Menstrual synchorony and suppression.". Nature 229 (5282): 244–5. doi:10.1038/229244a0. PMID 4994256.
^ Stern K, McClintock MK (1998). "Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones". Nature 392 (6672): 177-9. doi:10.1038/32408. PMID 9515961.
^ Yang, Zhengwei; Jeffrey C. Schank (2006). "Women Do Not Synchronize Their Menstrual Cycles". Human Nature 17 (4): 434–447. doi:10.1007/s12110-006-1005-z. http://transactionpub.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=1045-6767&volume=17&issue=4&spage=434. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
^ Kristin Scott (2008). Fundamental Neuroscience Chapter 24. Chemical Senses: Taste and Olfaction (3 ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-12-374019-9.
^ Liberles SD, Buck LB (2006). "A second class of chemosensory receptors in the olfactory epithelium". Nature 442 (7103): 645–50. doi:10.1038/nature05066. PMID 16878137.
^ Pearson H (2006). "Mouse data hint at human pheromones". Nature 442 (7102): 495. doi:10.1038/442495a. PMID 16885951. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7102/full/442495a.html.
^ ^a ^b Wyatt, Tristram D. (2003). Pheromones and Animal Behaviour: Communication by Smell and Taste. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-48526-6. p. 298 Quoting Preti & Weski (1999) "No peer reviewed data supporting the presences of...human...pheromones that cause rapid behavioral changes, such as attraction and/or copulation have been documented."
^ ^a ^b Hays, Warren S. T., Human pheromones: have they been demonstrated? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2003, 54:89-97
^ Bear, Mark F.; Barry W. Connors, Michael A. Paradiso (2006). Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 0781760038. http://books.google.com/?id=75NgwLzueikC&printsec=frontcover&dq=neuroscience+exploring+the+brain. p. 264 ...there has not yet been any hard evidence for human pheromones that might [change] sexual attraction (for members of either sex) [naturally]
^ Dale Purves, et al. (2008). Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience. Sinauer. ISBN 978-0-87893-694-6.

External links

Pherobase, the database of insect pheromones
Sexual Orientation, in the Brain

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Misspellings:

pheromone

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Common misspelling(s) of pheromone

feromone

Translations:

Pheromone

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - duftstof

Nederlands (Dutch)
lokstof, feromoon

Français (French)
n. - phéromone

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Chem.) Pheromon

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (χημ.) φερομόνη

Italiano (Italian)
ferormone

Português (Portuguese)
n. - feromônio (m) (substância química)

Русский (Russian)
феромон

Español (Spanish)
n. - feromona

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - feromon (sex. attraherande kem. utsöndring)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
外激素

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 外激素

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 페로몬(동물의 체외로 분비되는 종내의 유인물질)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - フェロモン

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) فعاعه جنسيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הפרשה המעוררת גירוי אצל פרט אחר מאותו סוג של בעל-חיים‬

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pheromone

pher·o·mone

pheromone

pheromone

Pheromone

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pheromones

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pheromones

Pheromone

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categories related to 'pheromones'

pheromone

Pheromone

Background

Limits

Types

Aggregation

Alarm

Epideictic

Releaser

Signal

Primer

Territorial

Trail

Information

Sex

Other

Evolution

Uses

Non-human animals

Humans

See also

References

Further reading

External links

pheromone

Pheromone