Biology subjects

Jones, B. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Jones, B. C..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Does the strength of women’s attraction to male vocal masculinity track changes in steroid hormones?

Recent studies that either used luteinizing hormone tests to confirm the timing of ovulation or measured steroid hormones from saliva have found little evidence that womens preferences for facial or body masculinity track within-subject changes in womens fertility or hormonal status. Fewer studies using these methods have examined womens preferences for vocal masculinity, however, and those that did report mixed results. Consequently, we used a longitudinal design and measured steroid hormones from saliva to test for evidence of hormonal regulation of womens (N=351) preferences for two aspects of male vocal masculinity (low pitch and low formants). Analyses suggested that preferences for masculine pitch, but not masculine formants, may track within-woman changes in estradiol. Although these results present some evidence for the hypothesis that within-subject hormones regulate womens attraction to masculine men, we do not discount the possibility that the effect of estradiol on pitch preferences in the current study is a false positive.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Phosphatidylinositol 3,5-Bisphosphate Regulates Yeast Vacuole Fusion at the Transition between trans-SNARE Complex Formation and Hemifusion

Phosphoinositides (PIs) regulate myriad cellular functions including membrane fusion, as exemplified by the yeast vacuole, which uses various PIs at different stages of fusion. In light of this, the effect of phos-phatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate [PI(3,5)P2] on vacuole fusion remains unknown. PI(3,5)P2 is made by the PI3P 5-kinase Fab1/PIKfyve and has been characterized as a regulator of vacuole fission during hyperosmotic shock where it interacts with the TRP family Ca2+ channel Yvc1. Here we demonstrate that exogenously added dioctanoyl (C8) PI(3,5)P2 abolishes homotypic vacuole fusion. This effect was not linked to interactions with Yvc1, as fusion was equally affected using yvc1{Delta} vacuoles. Thus, the effects of C8-PI(3,5)P2 on fusion versus fission operate through distinct mechanisms. Further testing showed that C8-PI(3,5)P2 inhibited vacuole fusion after the formation of trans-SNARE pairs. Although SNARE complex formation was unaffected we found that C8-PI(3,5)P2 strongly inhibited hemifusion. Overproduction of endogenous PI(3,5)P2 by the fab1T2250A hyperactive kinase mutant also inhibited at the hemifusion stage, bolstering the model in which PI(3,5)P2 inhibits fusion when present elevated levels. Taken together, this work identifies a novel function for PI(3,5)P2 as a negative regulator of vacuolar fusion. Moreover, it suggests that this lipid acts as a molecular switch between fission and fusion.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Hormonal regulation of women’s prosocial, but not sexual, responses to kinship cues

Mate preferences and mating-related behaviors are hypothesized to change over the menstrual cycle in ways that function to increase reproductive fitness. Results of recent large-scale studies suggest that many of these hormone-linked behavioral changes are less robust than was previously thought. One hypothesis that has not yet been subject to a large-scale test is the proposal that womens preference for associating with male kin is down-regulated during the ovulatory (high-fertility) phase of the menstrual cycle. Consequently, we used a longitudinal design to investigate the relationship between changes in womens steroid hormone levels and their perceptions of faces experimentally manipulated to possess kinship cues. Analyses suggested that women viewed mens faces displaying kinship cues more positively (i.e., more attractive and trustworthy) when estradiol-to-progesterone ratio was high. Since estradiol-to-progesterone ratio is positively associated with conception risk during the menstrual cycle, these results directly contradict the hypothesis that womens preference for associating with male kin is down-regulated during the ovulatory (high-fertility) phase of the menstrual cycle. Data and code are publicly available at https://osf.io/wnhma/.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2017

Women’s preferences for facial masculinity are not related to their hormonal status

Although widely cited as strong evidence that sexual selection has shaped human facial attractiveness judgments, evidence that preferences for masculine characteristics in mens faces are related to womens hormonal status is equivocal and controversial. Consequently, we conducted the largest ever longitudinal study of the hormonal correlates of womens preferences for facial masculinity (N=584). Analyses showed no compelling evidence that preferences for facial masculinity were related to changes in womens salivary steroid hormone levels. Furthermore, both within-subject and between-subject comparisons showed no evidence that oral contraceptive use decreased masculinity preferences. However, women generally preferred masculinized over feminized versions of mens faces, particularly when assessing mens attractiveness for short-term, rather than long-term, relationships. Our results do not support the hypothesized link between womens preferences for facial masculinity and their hormonal status.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2017

Within-Woman Hormone-Attractiveness Correlations Are Not Simply Byproducts Of Between-Women Hormone-Attractiveness Correlations

Putative associations between sex hormones and attractive physical characteristics in women are central to many theories of human physical attractiveness and mate choice. Although such theories have become very influential, evidence that physically attractive and unattractive women have different hormonal profiles is equivocal. Consequently, we investigated hypothesized relationships between salivary estradiol and progesterone and two aspects of womens physical attractiveness that are commonly assumed to be correlated with levels of these hormones: facial attractiveness (N=249) and waist-to-hip ratio (N=247). Our analyses revealed no evidence that women with more attractive faces or lower (i.e., more attractive) waist-to-hip ratios had higher levels of estradiol or progesterone. These results do not support the influential hypothesis that between-woman differences in physical attractiveness are related to estradiol and/or progesterone.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2017

Positive Sexual Imprinting For Human Eye Color

Human romantic partners tend to have similar physical traits1, but the mechanisms causing this homogamy are controversial. One potential explanation is direct matching to own characteristics2,3. Alternatively, studies showing similarity between parent and partner4,5 support positive sexual imprinting6,7, where individuals are more likely to choose mates with the physical characteristics of their other-sex parent. This interpretation has been strongly criticized because the same pattern could also be caused by sex-linked heritable preferences3, where similarity in appearance between an individuals partner and their other-sex parent is caused by similarity in preferences between the individual and their same-sex parent. The relationships among own, parents and same-sex partners eye color provide an elegant test of these hypotheses, which each postulate a different best predictor of partners eye color. While the matching hypothesis predicts this will be own eye color, the sex-linked heritable preference hypothesis predicts this will be the other-sex parents eye color and the positive sexual imprinting hypothesis predicts this will be the partner-sex parents eye color. Here we show that partner eye color was best predicted by the partner-sex parents eye color. Our results provide clear evidence against matching and sex-linked heritable preference hypotheses, and support the positive sexual imprinting hypothesis of the relationship between own and partners eye color.

animal behavior and cognition↗