Mating, but Not Male Accessory Gland Products, Changes Female Response to Olfactory Cues in Anastrepha Fruit Flies

Copulation and/or ejaculate components can alter female physiological state and female post-mating behavior. The objective of the present study was to determine if copulation and male reproductive accessory gland products (MAGs) modify the behavior of female Anastrepha ludens (Loew) and Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart; Diptera: Tephritidae) in response to two stimuli: male-emitted pheromone and oviposition host volatiles. Olfactometry studies revealed that mated females of both A. ludens and A. obliqua have a stronger response for host volatiles compared to unmated females, which have a stronger response for male pheromone. We also examined olfactory responses of females mated to testectomized males who could transfer MAGs but not sperm. In both species, MAGs alone did not cause the change in the olfactory response observed after copulation, unlike what has been found in Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Females mated to testectomized males responded equally to the male sex pheromone or to host volatiles, thus suggesting that the whole ejaculate is needed to elicit the complete behavioral switch in olfactory response. The function of MAGs is still unknown in these two pests of economic importance. The response for host volatiles by mated females has implications for the development of baits and traps that should preferably attract and target this population.

The initial response of females towards congeneric males matches the propensity to hybridize in Ophthalmotilapia.

Cichlid radiations often harbour closely related species with overlapping niches and distribution ranges. Such species sometimes hybridize in nature, which raises the question how can they coexist. This also holds for the Tanganyika mouthbrooders Ophthalmotilapia ventralis and O. nasuta. Earlier studies found indications of asymmetrical hybridisation with females of O. ventralis accepting males of O. nasuta, but not the other way around. We hypothesised that this was due to differences in the capacity for species recognition. Given the higher propensity of O. ventralis females towards hybridization, we expect a reduced ability for species recognition in O. ventralis females, compared to O. nasuta females. We staged two experiments, one focusing on 22 female O. nasuta and one on 21 female O. ventralis. These fish were placed in one half of a tank and briefly exposed to a conspecific or a heterospecific male, a conspecific female, or nothing (control). Female response was evaluated by scoring six tracking parameters and by noting the occurrence of ten discrete behaviours before and during the first encounter. Females always responded to the presence of another fish by approaching it. Remarkably, for both O. nasuta and O. ventralis, we did not find a different response between encounters with conspecific males and females. However, in agreement with our hypothesis, O. nasuta females behaved differently towards conspecific or heterospecific males, whereas O. ventralis females did not. When presented with a heterospecific male, O. nasuta females performed a lower number of 'ram' behaviours. Additionally, they never displayed the 'flee' behaviour, a component of the species' mating repertoire that was seen in all but one of the presentations with a conspecific male. Our findings show that differences in species recognition at first encounter predict to a large degree the outcome of the mating process, even in the absence of mating behaviour.

Variation in female songbird state determines signal state needed to evoke copulation

It is the female response to male signals that determines courtship success. In most songbirds, females control reproduction via the copulation solicitation display (CSD), an innate, stereotyped posture produced in direct response to male displays. Because CSD can be elicited in the absence of males by the presentation of recorded song, CSD production enables investigations into the effects of underlying signal features and behavioral state on female mating preferences. Using computer vision to quantify CSD trajectory in female brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), we show that both song quality and a female's internal state predict CSD production, as well as the onset latency and duration of the display. We also show that CSD can be produced in a graded fashion based on both signal strength and internal state. These results emphasize the importance of underlying receiver state in determining behavioral responses and suggest that female responsiveness acts in conjunction with male signal strength to determine the efficacy of male courtship.

Time Course of Renal Transcriptomics after Subchronic Exposure to Ochratoxin A in Fisher Rats

The mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) is a potent nephrocarcinogen, mainly in male rats. The aim of this study was to determine the time course of gene expression (GeneChip® Rat Gene 2.0 ST Array, Affymetrix) in kidney samples from male and female F344 rats, treated daily (p.o) with 0.50 mg/kg b.w. (body weight) of OTA for 7 or 21 days, and evaluate if there were differences between both sexes. After OTA treatment, there was an evolution of gene expression in the kidney over time, with more differentially expressed genes (DEG) at 21 days. The gene expression time course was different between sexes with respect to the number of DEG and the direction of expression (up or down): the female response was progressive and consistent over time, whereas males had a different early response with more DEG, most of them up-regulated. The statistically most significant DEG corresponded to metabolism enzymes (Akr1b7, Akr1c2, Adh6 down-regulated in females; Cyp2c11, Dhrs7, Cyp2d1, Cyp2d5 down-regulated in males) or transporters (Slc17a9 down-regulated in females; Slco1a1 (OATP-1) and Slc51b and Slc22a22 (OAT) down-regulated in males). Some of these genes had also a basal sex difference and were over-expressed in males or females with respect to the other sex.

The Female Response to Seminal Fluid

Seminal fluid is often assumed to have just one function in mammalian reproduction, delivering sperm to fertilize oocytes. But seminal fluid also transmits signaling agents that interact with female reproductive tissues to facilitate conception and .pregnancy. Upon seminal fluid contact, female tissues initiate a controlled inflammatory response that affects several aspects of reproductive function to ultimately maximize the chances of a male producing healthy offspring. This effect is best characterized in mice, where the female response involves several steps. Initially, seminal fluid factors cause leukocytes to infiltrate the female reproductive tract, and to selectively target and eliminate excess sperm. Other signals stimulate ovulation, induce an altered transcriptional program in female tract tissues that modulates embryo developmental programming, and initiate immune adaptations to promote receptivity to implantation and placental development. A key result is expansion of the pool of regulatory T cells that assist implantation by suppressing inflammation, mediating tolerance to male transplantation antigens, and promoting uterine vascular adaptation and placental development. Principal signaling agents in seminal fluid include prostaglandins and transforming growth factor-β. The balance of male signals affects the nature of the female response, providing a mechanism of ‟cryptic female choiceˮ that influences female reproductive investment. Male-female seminal fluid signaling is evident in all mammalian species investigated including human, and effects of seminal fluid in invertebrates indicate evolutionarily conserved mechanisms. Understanding the female response to seminal fluid will shed new light on infertility and pregnancy disorders and is critical to defining how events at conception influence offspring health.

RASGRF1 in CRF cells controls the early adolescent female response to repeated stress

RASGRF1 (GRF1) is a calcium-stimulated guanine-nucleotide exchange factor that activates RAS and RAC GTPases. In hippocampus neurons, it mediates the action of NMDA and calcium-permeable AMPA glutamate receptors on specific forms of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory in both male and female mice. Recently, we showed GRF1 also regulates the HPA axis response to restraint stress, but only in female mice before puberty. In particular, we found that after 7 days of restraint stress (7DRS) (30 min/day) both elevated serum CORT levels and induction of an anxiolytic phenotype normally observed in early adolescent (EA) female mice are blocked in GRF1-knockout mice. In contrast, no effects were observed in EA male or adult females. Here, we show this phenotype is due, at least in part, to GRF1 loss in CRF cells of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, as GRF1 knockout specifically in these cells suppressed 7DRS-induced elevation of serum CORT levels specifically in EA females, but only down to levels found in comparably stressed EA males. Nevertheless, it still completely blocked the 7DRS-induced anxiolytic phenotype observed in EA females. Interestingly, loss of GRF1 in CRF cells had no effect after only three restraint stress exposures, implying a role for GRF1 in 7DRS stress-induced plasticity of CRF cells that appears to be specific to EA female mice. Overall, these findings indicate that GRF1 in CRF cells makes a key contribution to the distinct response EA females display to repeated stress.

Genetic segregation for male body coloration and female mate preference in the guppy

Objective The purpose of this study was to segregate the genetic lines responsible for the orange area of coloration in males and the response to orange coloration exhibited by females in the guppy ( Poecilia reticulata ) through artificial selection. This study is part of a project that uses QTL-seq to search for candidate genes involved in male orange coloration and female response to male coloration. We created two lines: high-selected lines of males having large areas of orange spots and of females with high response to male orange coloration; and low-selected lines of males having small areas of orange spots and of females with low response to male orange coloration.Results The male orange area and the female response became significantly different between high- and low-selected lines after three generations of artificial selection. This indicates that the differences in the frequencies of alleles at loci affecting the orange area and the female response between the lines increased over the generations through selection.

Public health: The voice of professionals

Objective To monitor, for the first time in Portugal, job satisfaction on public health units (PHUs). Design Observational, transversal and descriptive/correlational study. Setting All 55 PHUs of mainland Portugal. Participants This study targeted all 1196 public health professionals working in PHUs. Main outcome measures Instrument to Assess Satisfaction of Professionals (IASP), filled online, respecting the ethical considerations and a conceptual measurement model. Results Data were obtained from 64% of professionals serving in PHUs, 73% of them female. Response rate of the physicians was 59.1%, with 72.3% of environmental health technicians, 62.0% of nurses and 58.3% of technical assistants. The average age was 47.6(±10.4) years, from 22 to 69 years. We found fair/good satisfaction with men, less educated and professionals with coordination functions more satisfied and low-level satisfaction with salary. Sociodemographic and labour characteristics play a relevant role on job satisfaction. Being female, a physician and an environmental health technician or working in a public setting increases the probability of low satisfaction. Conclusions Public health professionals are satisfied with their job, revealing high pride in their professions and strongly recommending their units to family and friends. Some variables, for example gender, leadership, marital status and education, do influence satisfaction. However, we found dissatisfaction among physicians when practice is compared with what is thought in the internship. It is possible to change the reality in which public health professionals work and to contribute to a reorganization of resources, new internal dynamics and establishment of improvement plans, aimed at a full accomplishment and job satisfaction.

Female Homers

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey have been inspiring a tradition of writers since their inception. Yet while this tradition comprises men and women, the associated literary criticism focuses almost exclusively on the male response. If the female response is addressed, it is subjected to a disproportionate consideration of gender. Simone Weil and Rachel Bespaloff each rewrite the Iliad during World War II yet neither writer responds through the prism of feminism. This paper proposes that through their adaptations Weil and Bespaloff illustrate that the female response is not always one of gender and that they act as precursors to a contemporary wave of female writers transforming Homer’s texts in innovative and subversive ways. With their twentieth-century reworkings of Homer, Weil and Bespaloff set in motion the process of restoring to women the recognition afforded them by Homer and due to them by their peers.