Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Professor

Email Dr. Richard Feldhoff
Phone Number: 502-852-5752
Fax: 502-852-6222

Address: 319 Abraham Flexner Way, Bldg. A, Room 514
Louisville, KY 40202

PhD, Florida State University

Area of Interest:

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 PRF and PMF isoforms, including the determination of the complex disulfide bonding pattern for PMF.  Pheromone studies are also being extended to the more primitive species, Desmognathus ocoee and Plethodon cinereus.

Selected Publications

Schubert, S.N., Wack, C.L., Houck, L.D., Feldhoff, P.W., Feldhoff, R.C. and Woodley, S.K.  (2009)  Exposure to peromones increases plasma corticosterone concentrations in a terrestrial salamander.  Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.  (In Press).

Houck, L.D., Watts, R.A., Arnold, S.J., Bowen, K.E., Kiemnec, K.M., Godwin, H.A., Feldhoff, P.W., and Feldhoff, R.C.  (2008)  A recombinant courtship pheromone affects sexual receptivity in a plethodontid salamander.  Chem. Senses 33:623-631.

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

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

Houck LD, Arnold SJ, Feldhoff PW and Feldhoff RC (2007) A salamander signaling system: from gene to protein to female response. Fourth International Symposium on Amphibian and Reptile Endocrinology and Neurobiology Annual Meeting, Berkeley, CA, March 26-28, 2007.

Houck, L.D., Arnold, S., Feldhoff, PW and Feldhoff, R.C. (2007) Vertebrate pheromones affect female receptivity in salamnders. Assoc. for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS XXIX), Sarasota, Fl, April 25-29, 2007. AChemS Abstract #A213.

Houck, L.D., Watts, R.A., Mead, L.M., Palmer, C.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, New York.

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 hyper-variable 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 Behaviour 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.

Wirsig-Wiechmann, C.R., Houck, L.D., Wood, J.M., Feldhoff, P.W. and Feldhoff, R.C. (2006) Male pheromone protein components activate female vomeronasal neurons in the salamander Plethodon shermani. BMC Neuroscience 7:26

Stapp, J.M., Sjoelund, V., Lassiter, H.A., Feldhoff, R.C. and Feldhoff, P.W. (2005) Recombinant rat IL-1-beta and IL-6 synergistically enhance C3 mRNA levels and complement component C3 secretion. Cytokine 30 (2): 78-85.

Watts, RA, Palmer CA, Feldhoff RC, Feldhoff PW, Houck LD, Jones AG, Pfrender ME,Rollmann SM and Arnold SJ (2004) Stabilizing selection on behavior and morphology masks positive selection on the signal in a salamander pheromone signaling complex. Molecular Biology and Evolution 21 (6): 1032-1041.

Rollmann, S.M., Houck, L.D., and Feldhoff, R.C. (2003) Conspecific and heterospecific pheromone effects on female receptivity. Animal Behaviour 66, 857-861.

Wirsig-Wiechmann, C.R., Houck, L.D., Feldhoff, P.W. and Feldhoff, R.C. (2002). Pheromonal activation of vomeronasal neurons in plethodontid salamanders. Brain Research 952(2): 335-344.

Rollmann, S.M., Houck, L.D., and Feldhoff, R.C. (2000). Population variation in salamander courtship pheromones. J. Chem. Ecol. 26, 2713-2723.

Rollmann, S.M., Houck, L.D., and Feldhoff, R.C. (1999) Proteinaceous pheromone affecting female receptivity in a terrestrial salamander. Science 285, 1907-1909.