Mixture of new sulfated steroids functions as a migratory pheromone in the sea lamprey.

The sea lamprey is an ancient, parasitic fish that invaded the Great Lakes a century ago, where it triggered the collapse of many fisheries. Like many fishes, this species relies on chemical cues to mediate key aspects of its life, including migration and reproduction. Here we report the discovery of a multicomponent steroidal pheromone that is released by stream-dwelling larval lamprey and guides adults to spawning streams.

Evidence that petromyzontid lampreys employ a common migratory pheromone that is partially comprised of bile acids.

This study examined whether the larval pheromone employed by adult sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) to locate spawning streams and known to be at least partially comprised of bile acids is also employed by other lamprey species. Both production and release of lamprey-specific bile acids, and sensitivity to them were examined in a wide variety of species. High pressure liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) found gallbladders from 10 species of European and North American lamprey to contain large quantities of petromyzonol sulfate (PS) together with much smaller quantities of allocholic acid (ACA) and petromyzonol (P).