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Article: Garter snakes yield sexual chemistry.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- July 22, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Garter snakes yield sexual chemistry
Scientists have isolated, identified and synthesized two pheromones in the Canadian red-sided garter snake, marking a rare instance in which the potent compounds have been characterized in a vertebrate, they say. Pheromones are chemicals produced by an organism that cue specific behaviors when smelled by the creature's compatriots.
The researchers, led by biochemist Robert T. Mason of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Md., analyzed the female sex-attractiveness pheromone and the male sex-recognition pheromone that guide the species' mating behavior. They report their findings in the July 21 ...