Rats can discriminate between the urine odors of genetically identical mice maintained on different diets

Schellinck, Heather M.; West, Ann Marie; Brown, Richard E.

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(92)90096-k

Cited by 41 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Changes in diet can significantly alter the odors from skin glands, urine, and feces (Beauchamp, 1976;Skeen and Thiessen 1977;Schellinck et al, 1992, Brown and Schellinck, 1992, Salamon, 1996. This could explain a part of the change in the flank gland secretions of C. russula occurring during the breeding season, which may be correlated with seasonal changes in prey species leading to changes in the shrew's diet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra- and interindividual variation in flank gland secretions of free-ranging shrewsCrocidura russula

et al. 1996

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Individual differences in flank gland secretions were examined among males of the monogamous shrewCrocidura russula during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons. Gas chromatography was used to measure intra- and interindividual variation of flank gland secretions of free-ranging shrews from different populations. The number of compounds detected by gas Chromatographic analyses was correlated with body mass, flank gland size, and the presence of blood parasites in individual shrews. Very few compounds were detected from the flank gland area of juvenile males. After they reached sexual maturity, however, the number of compounds detected from the flank gland secretions increased significantly. At the beginning of the reproductive season 48 different compounds were detected from male flank gland secretions. In the middle of the breeding season 70 compounds were detected, while only 11 compounds were detected during the nonbreeding season. Few compounds were common to all males. There were more volatile compounds in the flank gland secretions of males in the beginning of the breeding season than later in the breeding season. Males from the same population had fewer differences in the elution profile of compounds than males from different populations indicating that individuals from a distinct population have similar elution profiles of compounds and that each population has its own type of elution profile. No correlations were found between the number of compounds detected by gas chromatography for each male and the male's body mass or flank gland size. Blood parasites (trypanosomes,Trypanosoma crocidurae) were found in only three of 30 males investigated.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra- and interindividual variation in flank gland secretions of free-ranging shrewsCrocidura russula

et al. 1996

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“…However, environmental factors, such as food type, bacterial gut flora, and social stress (Schellinck et al, 1992;Yamazaki et al, 1999Yamazaki et al, , 2002 as well as parasited status (Kavaliers et al, 2005;Zala et al, 2003) also induce changes in volatile odors.…”

Section: Chemical Signals In Urinary Scent Marksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scent marking behavior as an odorant communication in mice

Arakawa

Blanchard

Arakawa

et al. 2008

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

198

149

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In rodents, where chemical signals play a particularly important role in determining intraspecies interactions including social dominance and intersexual relationships, various studies have shown that behavior is sensitive to conspecific odor cues. Mice use urinary scent marks for communication with individual conspecifics in many social contexts. Urinary scent involves genetic information about individuals such as species, sex, and individual identity as well as metabolic information such as social dominance, and reproductive and health status, which are mediated by chemical proteins in scent marks including the major histocompatibility complex and the major urinary proteins. The odor of the predator which can be considered to be a threatening signal for the prey also modulate mouse behavior in which scent marking is suppressed in response to the cat odor exposure in mice. These odorant chemicals are detected and recognized through two olfactory bulbs, the role of which in detection of chemosignals with biological relevant appears to be differential, but partly overlapped. Mice deposit scent marks toward conspecifics to maintain their social relationships, and inhibit scent marking in a context where natural predator, cat odor is contained. This suppression of scent marking is long-lasting (for at least 7 days) and context-dependent, while the odorant signaling to conspecifics tends to appear frequently (over 24h but less than 7 days intervals) depending on the familiarity of each signal-recipient. It has been discussed that scent marking is a communicative behavior associated with territoriality toward conspecifics, indicating that the social signaling within species are sensitive to predator odor cues in terms of vulnerability to predation risk.

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“…This has led to the concept of an MHC-encoded odourtype, which elicits a chemical cue that is specific to the individual and which has been suggested to drive individuality recognition and mate choice, hence maximizing allelic heterogeneity in the MHC [36,[59][60][61]. However, MHC-encoded odourtypes can be disrupted by food [62], or by manipulation of the bacterial flora [63], which would render a putative individual-specific odourtype susceptible to rapid change.…”

Section: Integrated View Of Mups In Chemical Communication In Micementioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple roles of major urinary proteins in the house mouse, Mus domesticus

Beynon

Hurst

2003

Biochemical Society Transactions

162

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The urine of the house mouse, Mus domesticus, contains large amounts of proteins that are specifically synthesized in the liver to be secreted in the urine. These proteins, termed major urinary proteins (MUPs), have multiple roles in the communication of information in urine-derived scent marks. They bind lowmolecular-mass volatile pheromones, and effect their delivery to the scent mark, followed by a slow release that is controlled by the rate of dissociation from the MUPs. However, this family of proteins is extremely polymorphic, more than might be expected for a simple role of ligand binding and release. We have analysed the polymorphism in wild mice, and have now shown that the pattern of MUPs in the urine acts as a type of individuality 'bar code' that signals the identity of the owner of the scent mark. This multiplicity of function, from a generic ligand-binding property to an extremely specific individuality, sets the MUPs apart from other lipocalin family proteins that are involved in chemical signalling.

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Rats can discriminate between the urine odors of genetically identical mice maintained on different diets

Cited by 41 publications

References 23 publications

Intra- and interindividual variation in flank gland secretions of free-ranging shrewsCrocidura russula

Intra- and interindividual variation in flank gland secretions of free-ranging shrewsCrocidura russula

Scent marking behavior as an odorant communication in mice

Multiple roles of major urinary proteins in the house mouse, Mus domesticus

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