In vivo aromatization of [3H]testosterone in high and low mating lines of Japanese quail.
Japanese quail selected bidirectionally for adult mating frequency were utilized to study in vivo aromatization of testosterone (T) in relation to masculine copulatory behavior. Functionally castrated high (HM) and low mating (LM) line quail were injected with 75 microCi of [3H]T. One hour after the injection, all radioactivity recovered in telencephalic-diencephalic brain tissue was in the form of T, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), or estradiol (E2). Neither the total 3H nor the [3H]T metabolite radioactivity differed between the two genetic lines. Of all [3H]T metabolic radioactivity, [3H]E2 represented 45 +/- 6 % in the HM line and 46 +/- 6% in the LM line, indicating that the line difference in mating frequency was not due to a corresponding difference in aromatase activity. Inasmuch as both the HM and LM line birds actively converted T to E2, these results implicate a neural mechanism involving E2-receptor interactions as the cause of the behavioral differences between the HM and LM lines.
D000818:Animals; D001141:Aromatase / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D002369:Castration; D003370:Coturnix / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011784:Quail / Q000378:metabolism*; D011959:Receptors, Estradiol; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism*
D011959:Receptors, Estradiol; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D013739:Testosterone; D001141:Aromatase