Frog nuptial pads secrete mating season-specific proteins related to salamander pheromones

Males of many frog species develop spiny nuptial pads with underlying glands on their thumbs during the mating period. We used 3D visualization on the European common frog Rana temporaria to show that the morphology of these glands allows the channelling of secreted molecules to the pad's surfa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of experimental biology Vol. 216; no. Pt 22; pp. 4139 - 4143
Main Authors:	Willaert, Bert, Bossuyt, Franky, Janssenswillen, Sunita, Adriaens, Dominique, Baggerman, Geert, Matthijs, Severine, Pauwels, Elin, Proost, Paul, Raepsaet, Arent, Schoofs, Liliane, Stegen, Gwij, Treer, Dag, Van Hoorebeke, Luc, Vandebergh, Wim, Van Bocxlaer, Ines
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England 15-11-2013
Subjects:	Animal Communication Animals Anura - metabolism Anura - physiology Caudata Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Forelimb - secretion Gene Library Histological Techniques Mass Spectrometry Polymerase Chain Reaction Rana temporaria Sex Attractants - genetics Sex Attractants - secretion Sex Characteristics Species Specificity Urodela - metabolism X-Ray Microtomography Anura chemical communication Ly-6/uPAR protein family amplexin three-finger motif
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Summary:	Males of many frog species develop spiny nuptial pads with underlying glands on their thumbs during the mating period. We used 3D visualization on the European common frog Rana temporaria to show that the morphology of these glands allows the channelling of secreted molecules to the pad's surface during amplexus. Combined transcriptome and proteome analyses show that proteins of the Ly-6/uPAR family, here termed amplexins, are highly expressed in the nuptial glands during the mating season, but are totally absent outside that period. The function of amplexins remains unknown, but it is interesting to note that they share structural similarities with plethodontid modulating factors, proteins that influence courtship duration in salamanders.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0022-0949 1477-9145
DOI:	10.1242/jeb.086363