Testosterone histories from tusks reveal woolly mammoth musth episodes.
Nature
; 617(7961): 533-539, 2023 May.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37138076
Hormones in biological media reveal endocrine activity related to development, reproduction, disease and stress on different timescales1. Serum provides immediate circulating concentrations2, whereas various tissues record steroid hormones accumulated over time3,4. Hormones have been studied in keratin, bones and teeth in modern5-8 and ancient contexts9-12; however, the biological significance of such records is subject to ongoing debate10,13-16, and the utility of tooth-associated hormones has not previously been demonstrated. Here we use liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry paired with fine-scale serial sampling to measure steroid hormone concentrations in modern and fossil tusk dentin. An adult male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) tusk shows periodic increases in testosterone that reveal episodes of musth17-19, an annually recurring period of behavioural and physiological changes that enhance mating success20-23. Parallel assessments of a male woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) tusk show that mammoths also experienced musth. These results set the stage for wide-ranging studies using steroids preserved in dentin to investigate development, reproduction and stress in modern and extinct mammals. Because dentin grows by apposition, resists degradation, and often contains growth lines, teeth have advantages over other tissues that are used as records of endocrine data. Given the low mass of dentin powder required for analytical precision, we anticipate dentin-hormone studies to extend to smaller animals. Thus, in addition to broad applications in zoology and palaeontology, tooth hormone records could support medical, forensic, veterinary and archaeological studies.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Testosterona
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Dente
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Elefantes
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Mamutes
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Fósseis
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nature
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos