Sodefrin: a Female-Attracting Peptide Pheromone in Newt Cloacal Glands

A decapeptide called sodefrin was isolated from the abdominal gland of the cloaca of the male red-bellied newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster. The native peptide, as well as the synthetic one, had a female-attracting activity. Sodefrin was found in the apical portion of the epithelial cells of the abdominal gland. Sodefrin is apparently species specific because it did not attract females of Cynops ensicauda. This is the first amphibian pheromone to be identified and the first peptide pheromone identified in a vertebrate.