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Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Associate Professor

Email Dr. Pam Feldhoff
Phone Number: 502-852-7136
Fax: 502-852-6222

Address: 319 Abraham Flexner Way, Room 511
Louisville, KY 40202

PhD, 1979, Florida State University

Research Interests

Protein and glycoprotein biochemistry; salamander pheromones

Drs. Rick and Pamela Feldhoff collaborate with Drs. Lynne Houck and Stevan Arnold at Oregon State University on the effects of courtship pheromones on reproductive behavior in Plethodontid salamanders. During courtship, a male Plethodon shermani salamander delivers pheromones from a submandibular mental gland to the female’s nares. Following binding of pheromones to receptors in the vomeronasal organ, female receptivity increases. The pheromone mixture consists of two major families, each of which contains multiple isoforms. The 22 kDa family (Plethodontid Receptivity Factor; PRF) is related to the IL-6 family of cytokines, while the 7 kDa family (Plethodontid Modulating Factor; PMF) is related to xenoxins and snake cytotoxins. Efforts at Oregon State focus on the behavioral biology aspects of the project. Current research efforts in our lab, utilizing contemporary techniques in protein biochemistry, molecular biology and mass spectral analyses, are focused on the purification and characterization of the PMF isoforms, including the determination of the complex disulfide bonding pattern. Pheromone studies are also being extended to the more primitive species, Desmognathus ocoee.

Selected Publications

Aly, H., Khashaba, M.T., Nada, A., Hasanen, B.M., McCarter, R., Schultz, S.J., Gordon, L., Feldhoff, P.W. and Lassiter, H.A.  (2009)  The role of complement in neurodevelopmental impairment following neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.  Am. J. Perinatol. (In Press).

Schubert, S.N., Wack, C.L., Houck, L.D., Feldhoff, P.W. and Feldhoff, R.C.  (2009)  Exposure to pheromones increases plasma corticosterone concentration in a terrestrial salamander.  General and Comparative Endocrinology (Accepted).

Schubert, S.N., Houck, L.D., Feldhoff, P.W., Feldhoff, R.C. and Woodley, S.K.  (2008)  The effects of sex on chemosensory communication in a terrestrial salamander (Plethodon shermani).  Hormones and Behavior 54:270-277.

Houck, L., Watts, R., Arnold, S., Bowen, K., Kiemnex, K., Godwin, H., Feldhoff, P. and Feldhoff, R.  (2008)   A recombinant courtship pheromone affects sexual receptivity in a plethodontid salamander.  Chemical Senses 33:623-631.

Laberge. F., Feldhoff, R.C., Feldhoff, P.W. and Houck, L.D.  (2008)  Courtship pheromone-induced c-Fos expression in the female salamander brain. Neuroscience (In Press).

Houck, L.D., Mead, L.S., Watts, R.A., Arnold, S.J., Feldhoff, P.W. and Feldhoff, R.C. (2007)  A candidate vertebrate pheromone, SPF, increases female receptivity in a salamander. pp. 213-221. In: J. Hurst, R. Beynon, and D. Muller-Schwarze, (eds.), Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11. Springer, NewYork.

Palmer, C.A., Hollis, D.M., Watts, R.A., Houck, L.D., McCall, M.A., Gregg, R.G., Feldhoff, P.W., Feldhoff, R.C. and Arnold, S.J.  (2007)  Plethodontid Modulating Factor (PMF), a hypervariable salamander courtship pheromone in the three-finger protein superfamily. FEBS Journal 274 (9):2300-2310.

Houck, L.D., Palmer, C.A., Watts, R.A., Arnold, S.J., Feldhoff, P.W. and Feldhoff, R.C.  (2007)  A new vertebrate courtship pheromone, PMF, affects female receptivity in a terrestrial salamander. Animal Behavior 73:315-320.

Schubert, S.N., Houck, L.D., Feldhoff, P.W., Feldhoff, R.C. and Woodley, S.K.  (2006)  Effects of androgens on behavioral and vomeronasal responses to chemosensory cues in male terrestrial salamanders (Plethodon shermani). Hormones and Behavior 50(3):469-476.