YOLK IS A SOURCE OF MATERNAL TESTOSTERONE FOR DEVELOPING BIRDS
YOLK IS A SOURCE OF MATERNAL TESTOSTERONE FOR DEVELOPING BIRDS
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.90.24.11446
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发表时间：
1993-12-15
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
SCHWABL, H
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
SCHWABL, H
影响鸟类发育的性类固醇激素一直被认为只由胚胎或新生儿产生。我用放射免疫法测定了新产金丝雀（Serinus canaria）和斑胸草雀（Poephila guttata）蛋蛋黄中雄烯二酮、5 α -二氢睾酮、睾酮、17 β -雌二醇和皮质酮的含量。在金丝雀和斑胸草雀的卵中都发现了睾酮，但前者的含量远高于后者。在同一窝金丝雀蛋中，睾酮含量随着产卵顺序的增加而增加，而与从这些蛋中孵出的后代的基因性别无关。在没有雄性的雌性金丝雀的蛋中也存在卵黄睾酮，这表明它是母性的。幼金丝雀的社会等级与其所孵蛋的卵黄睾酮浓度呈正相关，表明幼金丝雀攻击性行为的发育可能受到母体睾酮的影响。这些发现表明，雌性鸣禽可以给它们的卵注入一定剂量的激素，从而改变后代的行为。这些激素的不同剂量可能解释了后代行为的一些个体差异。
The sex steroid hormones that affect development in birds have been thought to be produced exclusively by the embryo or neonate. I used radioimmunoassay to measure the amounts of androstenedione, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone, testosterone, 17beta-estradiol, and corticosterone in the yolk of freshly laid canary (Serinus canaria) and zebra finch (Poephila guttata) eggs. Testosterone was found in both canary and zebra finch eggs, but its contents were much higher in the former than in the latter. The testosterone content of canary eggs in a same clutch increased with the order of laying, regardless of the genetic sex of the offspring that hatched from these eggs. Yolk testosterone was also present in the eggs of female canaries that were kept without a male, indicating that it is of maternal origin. The social rank of juvenile canaries was positively correlated with the concentration of yolk testosterone in the eggs from which they hatched, suggesting that the development of aggressive behavior of offspring might be subject to modification by maternal testosterone. These findings indicate that female songbirds can bestow upon their eggs a dose of hormone that modifies the behavior of offspring. Variable doses of these hormones might explain some of the individual variation in offspring behavior.