FLICKR, MIKE BAIRDMale goats exude a compound, 4-ethyloctanal, that can prompt female goats’ brains to release chemicals to stimulate their reproductive systems, according to a study published last week (February 27) in Current Biology. When the compound is exposed to air, it oxidizes to 4-ethyloctanoic acid, which is long known to be partially responsible for the familiar “goaty smell” and to attract females.
“We are tempted to speculate that this is a clever reproductive strategy of the male goat to alter behavior and activity of the reproduction center in the female for mating by a single molecule,” coauthor Yukari Takeuchi of University of Tokyo said in a statement.
Takeuchi and his colleagues had previously found that the “male effect” was caused by the skin on goats’ heads, so they fitted male goats with a specially designed cap to capture compounds released by normal as well as castrated male goats. The researchers isolated several chemicals found only in the intact males, including 4-ethyloctanal. They then demonstrated 4-ethyloctanal’s effect on the female brain using electrophysiological monitoring.
“There are relatively few instances in mammals where an individual compound has been positively ...
