The Stimulating Effect of a Phytohormone, Gibberellic Acid, on Reproduction of Mus musculus

Abstract

The plant hormone gibberellic acid (GA3), given in the drinking water to field-caught Mus musculus in the laboratory, almost doubled the proportion of females producing litters. No increase was detected in litter size or number of litters produced by breeding females. In a further experiment, the proportion of females coming into oestrus was more than doubled by treatment with GA3. Present in many plants, especially during germination, growth and seed maturation, gibberellins may be proximate chemical cues to reproduction in some herbivores, and may act as a feedback mechanism between plant and herbivore in some models of demographic cycles.