Slaying the Dating Game: Aromatase Inhibition Reduces Female Snake Seduction
- Clarence Ocampo
- Mar 22, 2023
- 3 min read
By: Clarence Ocampo
Welcome to the world of snake seduction where love is not the only thing in the air! Love is all about the chemistry on how you smell, and sometimes drugs can put a damper on the dating game. No scientists have studied how specific drugs reduce female attractivity in reptiles or in any animal with a backbone and this was the first to measure the extent to which female animals can make fewer scents. The rationale was to investigate the effects of the inhibitor on female garter snakes' attractiveness to males. The authors of the study, Holly R. Ruckser, and M. Rockwell Parker wanted to understand how a drug called an aromatase inhibitor affected female garter snakes' ability to attract male snakes. Inhibitors are substances, including drugs, which can prevent or slow down specific chemical reactions or biological processes from occurring in the body. The inhibitor lowers the level of estrogen, a hormone that plays a vital role in female mating actions and body functions. Aromatase is a substance in our body that changes male hormones into female hormones. When we take inhibitors that block this substance, it can lead to lower levels of female hormones in the body. The researchers aimed to determine if the decrease in estrogen levels caused by the inhibitor would affect the female snakes' reproductive success by impacting their ability to attract and reproduce with males. They wanted to determine whether a decrease in estrogen levels caused by the inhibitor would make female snakes less attractive to males. The study's findings had implications for understanding the impact of certain chemicals on wildlife populations.
The researchers experimented on female garter snakes to investigate the role of estrogen in female snake mating behaviour and body functions. They gave the inhibitor to some of the female snakes that reduced their estrogen levels, while other females received a fake treatment that did not affect their estrogen levels. The researchers then measured their body score condition, gene expressions, and scents of the snakes to compare the effects of the treatment on their attractiveness to male snakes.
The results showed that the female snakes treated with the inhibitor had reduced attractiveness to male snakes compared to the control females. Specifically, the treated females received less courtship and were less effective in attracting males compared to the control group. These findings suggest that estrogen plays a critical role in female snake mating behaviour and body functions, and that a decrease in estrogen caused by the inhibitor can significantly impact female snake attractiveness to males.
The researchers also analyzed the female snakes' sex scents using a technique known as gas chromatography which helped to determine if there were any changes in their chemical makeup that could account for the differences in male snake behaviour. They found that the treated females produced less of the unsaturated methyl ketones which are important chemicals that are released by the female to attract males by helping the male identify her as a potential mate. The amount of saturated and unsaturated ketones, as well as their ratio, in an individual's scent profile are reliable indicator of individual attractiveness.
The study found that preventing scent production by using only the inhibitor reduced attractivity in female red-sided garter snakes, which prevented females from making sufficient amounts of unsaturated methyl ketones that attract and maintain males in breeding areas. Studying the effects of inhibitors in female attractivity supports the idea that hormones have specific effects on the regulation of scent production and this may shape future research in the field of sexual development and diversity in reptiles. Looks like female garter snakes will have to find a new way to slay the dating game! Thanks to the ground-breaking research on aromatase inhibition, we now know that female snake seduction is highly dependent on estrogen levels and the production of unsaturated methyl ketones. Who knew the key to finding love was all in the chemistry?
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