A single key-odorant accounts for the pheromonal effect of rabbit milk: Further test of the mammary pheromone?s activity against a wide sample of volatiles from milk

Coureaud, Gérard; Langlois, Dominique; Perrier, Guy; Schaal, Benoı̂st

doi:10.1007/s00049-003-0249-x

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Further, the MP seems to be liberated in the nipples (Moncomble et al, 2005) and is as attractive for pups as the odour of milk and of the whole maternal abdomen (Coureaud, 2001;Coureaud et al, 2001). The MP is also an extremely potent releaser of newborns' head searching and oral grasping, movements usually displayed when pups contact the maternal abdomen before to suck Coureaud et al, 2003Coureaud et al, , 2004. Together, these results suggest that the MP is involved in nipple localization and sucking behaviour of newborn rabbits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…The behavioural assay was designed and adapted for rabbit milk (Keil et al, 1990;Coureaud et al, 2002;Moncomble et al, 2005), and later validated for the MP (Coureaud et al, 2003(Coureaud et al, , 2004Schaal et al, 2003). The pup was immobilized in one gloved hand of the experimenter, with its head left free.…”

Section: Testing Procedures and Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, the Mammary Pheromone (MP) has been demonstrated to be an active signal emitted by lactating females (Coureaud, 2001;Coureaud et al, 2003;Schaal et al, 2003). The MP confers to rabbit milk its power to elicit a behavioural sequence ending in nipple grasping.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Convergent changes in the maternal emission and pup reception of the rabbit mammary pheromone

Coureaud

Langlois²,

Perrier³

et al. 2006

Chemoecology

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Lactating rabbit females emit volatile odour cues that trigger specialized motor actions leading to sucking. But the activity of these cues may change with advancing lactation. Here, we tested this possibility in three experiments. In Exp. 1, we assessed whether 2-day-old pups respond differently to the odour of milk from females in early (day 2) as compared to late (day 23) lactation. In Exp. 2, a compound bearing pheromonal properties, the Mammary Pheromone (MP), was dosed in these milks to assess whether its concentration is correlated with behavioural activity. In Exp. 3, the responsiveness to a constant level of MP was compared in d2 versus d23-pups. Run on 240 pups, the assays showed that a) the milk activity declines between d2 and d23 of lactation; b) during this same period, the concentration of the MP decreases in milk; c) the MP itself becomes less active to elicit oral grasping in pre-weaning pups than in newborns. These results indicate that the MP is active during the period when pups are exclusively dependent on milk. The convergent changes in emission and reception of this pheromone may sequentially warrant that pups are first attracted to the mammae, and then that they progressively disinvest the mother as they begin to eat solid food and to be attracted by other conspecific

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Testing Procedures and Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Convergent changes in the maternal emission and pup reception of the rabbit mammary pheromone

Coureaud

Langlois²,

Perrier³

et al. 2006

Chemoecology

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“…The behavioural assay (e.g. Coureaud et al, 2003 and2006a;Schaal et al, 2003) consisted in holding a pup in one gloved hand with its head left free to move. When the pup came to rest, the tip of the glass-stick carrying the mammary pheromone was positioned 0.5 cm in front of its muzzle, avoiding any contact.…”

Section: Stimulusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mammary pheromone belongs to this latter category. It is carried in rabbit milk and is an extremely potent activator of typical orocephalic movements that pups generally display to find the nipples under the nursing female (Coureaud, 2001;Coureaud et al, 2003 and2006a;Schaal et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The reactivity of neonatal rabbits to the mammary pheromone as a probe for viability

Coureaud

Fortun-Lamothe

Langlois³

et al. 2007

Animal

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Newborn rabbits depend on a daily nursing interaction with the mother to gain milk and to survive. During this interaction, they localise and seize the nipples displaying a typical behaviour triggered by maternal odour cues. The mammary pheromone constitutes such a signal in domestic rabbits: it elicits sucking-related movements in more than 90% of the pups. However, some newborns remain unresponsive to the presentation of the pheromone, even pups apparently healthy and highly motivated to suck. The main goal of the present study was therefore to explore the link between the unresponsiveness of rabbit pups to the mammary pheromone and their growth and survival in breeding conditions. To that end, 293 newborns from 30 litters were tested for their head searching-oral grasping responses to the mammary pheromone on days 1 and 3, and their milk intake and mortality were followed up from days 1 to 21. It was hypothesised that unresponsive newborns would have subsequent difficulties in finding nipples, sucking and surviving. Early weight and success in milk intake were further considered as mediating factors in growth and viability. The results showed that pups that were unresponsive to the mammary pheromone on day 1 were less successful in gaining milk and had a higher rate of mortality than the responsive pups. However, this impact was modulated by the weight of pups: it appeared only in the lightest newborns. Moreover, this impact vanished on day 3. On the other hand, the pup weight and sucking success on days 1 to 3 strongly influenced viability and growth during the period extending from days 1 to 21. Taken together, the results show that the day-1 responsiveness of rabbit pups to the mammary pheromone can be considered as an indicator of individual viability in pups having a small weight (,48 g on day 1). The predictive validity of the pups' pheromonal reactivity seems however time-limited as it works only during the first, but crucial, postnatal days.

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Orientation of newborn mice to lactating females: Identifying biological substrates of semiochemical interest

Aïn

Chraiti

Schaal

et al. 2011

Developmental Psychobiology

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Among mammals, odor-based communication between females and infants is decisive for neonatal survival. So far, the nature of odor substrates involved in the localization of the mother and their nipples is unknown in mice. The present study aims: (1) to evaluate the specific attractive value of lactating females to newborn mice, (2) to localize the abdominal region that is most attractive to pups, and (3) to identify odor substrates that support such attraction. Results showed that 5-6-day-old mice roam preferentially over the abdomen of lactating females than the abdomen of non-lactating females. In lactating females, pups are more attracted to abdominal areas comprising nipples. The blend of odor substrates from nipples, as well as separate sources presumed to compose it, viz. milk, maternal saliva and pup saliva, were detectable and equivalently attractive to pups. The equivalent attraction of these different odor substrates may derive either from overlap in chemical constituents, or from associative learning during nursing.

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A single key-odorant accounts for the pheromonal effect of rabbit milk: Further test of the mammary pheromone?s activity against a wide sample of volatiles from milk

Cited by 24 publications

References 17 publications

Convergent changes in the maternal emission and pup reception of the rabbit mammary pheromone

Convergent changes in the maternal emission and pup reception of the rabbit mammary pheromone

The reactivity of neonatal rabbits to the mammary pheromone as a probe for viability

Orientation of newborn mice to lactating females: Identifying biological substrates of semiochemical interest

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