Fig. 4.

Mate preference, but not lordosis, behavior depends on GnRH signaling. a Genetic disruption of Dicer in GnRH neurons abolishing GnRH expression in the GnRH::Cre; Dicer^loxP/loxP mouse model induced a female- instead of a male-directed preference, whereas control littermates showed a preference for the male (saline condition). A single peripheral GnRH injection at a dose of 0.025 mg kg⁻¹ induced a male-directed preference in GnRH::Cre; Dicer^loxP/loxP female mice, whereas a peripheral injection with kisspeptin (Kp-10) was not successful. *P ≤ 0.05; one-sample t test (H0: mean equals 0); n = 6 (DicerloxP/loxP) or 8 (GnRH::Cre;DicerloxP/loxP). b Strikingly, such disruption of GnRH expression in GnRH::Cre; Dicer^loxP/loxP mouse model did not affect lordosis behavior. Mann–Whitney U test; P = 0.79; n = 7/8. c A single injection with GnRH failed to stimulate lordosis behavior in Kiss^−/− mice. Paired t test; P = 0.65; n = 10. Bars represent the mean ± SEM. For all experimental details, see Supplementary Table 1