Pheromones :: Biology Essays Research Papers

PheromonesHave you ever wondered how different species know when to buster and who to mate with? How can they tell the difference between someone of the alike(p) sex, a great deal less whether an some other organism is of the alike(p) species? This can be answered by chemical substance signals kn own as pheromones. Pheromones are unique and highly specific chemical signals produced by an organism that signals its presence to other members of the same species. Each organism have different pheromones they release during mating that helps them to id entify apiece other and start the process of mating. Pheromones come not only in forms of sex attractants, but also as alarm pheromones, aggregation pheromones, and spreading pheromones(1). How do we know that much(prenominal) a chemical exists in organisms? In 1956, German scientists were able to identify the freshman ever pheromone in giant silkworm moths. After 20 years of research and over half a million female moths later, they were able to extract a pecu liar intensify from certain glands located on the tip of the abdomen. When however a trivial amount of this substance was exposed to male moths, they would begin to beat their wing madly in a iflutter dancei. This indicated that they had detected the powerfu l sex attractant from the females that caused this fibre of behavior. After extracting extraneous matter and purifying the substance, scientists ended up with the first ever chemically pure pheromone. Since thusly, various other organisms have been canvass and more is understood about the effects of pheromone, but not much is known about how pheromones work in more complex vertebrates such as humans. The next logical question to ask is how are these chemical signals recognized? Studies have shown that pheromone is first recognized by the chemical receptors in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and olfactory bulbs located in the nose signals are then sent t o the hypothalamus of the brain. In an exper iment conducted on unadulterated male mice where their VNO was removed, the mice were found to generally not mate with receptive females, even if the maleis olfactory nerves were not damaged. This showed that the VNO s are needed in order start certain chains of reactions already programmed in the brain. still studies show that when male mice have begun to associate sexual activity with other cues from females, including smells they become less dependent on the VNO s.