PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
In most mammals, conspecific chemosensory communication relies on semiochemical release within complex bodily secretions and subsequent stimulus detection by the vomeronasal organ (VNO). Urine, a rich source of ethologically relevant chemosignals, conveys detailed information about sex, social hierarchy, health, and reproductive state, which becomes accessible to a conspecific via vomeronasal sampling. So far, however, numerous aspects of social chemosignaling along the vomeronasal pathway remain unclear. Moreover, since virtually all research on vomeronasal physiology is based on secretions derived from inbred laboratory mice, it remains uncertain whether such stimuli provide a true representation of potentially more relevant cues found in the wild. Here, we combine a robust low-noise VNO activity assay with comparative molecular profiling of sex- and strain-specific mouse urine samples from two inbred laboratory strains as well as from wild mice. With comprehensive molecular portraits of these secretions, VNO activity analysis now enables us to (i) assess whether and, if so, how much sex/strain-selective \'raw\' chemical information in urine is accessible via vomeronasal sampling; (ii) identify which chemicals exhibit sufficient discriminatory power to signal an animal\'s sex, strain, or both; (iii) determine the extent to which wild mouse secretions are unique; and (iv) analyze whether vomeronasal response profiles differ between strains. We report both sex- and, in particular, strain-selective VNO representations of chemical information. Within the urinary \'secretome\', both volatile compounds and proteins exhibit sufficient discriminative power to provide sex- and strain-specific molecular fingerprints. While total protein amount is substantially enriched in male urine, females secrete a larger variety at overall comparatively low concentrations. Surprisingly, the molecular spectrum of wild mouse urine does not dramatically exceed that of inbred strains. Finally, vomeronasal response profiles differ between C57BL/6 and BALB/c animals, with particularly disparate representations of female semiochemicals.
摘要：
在大多数哺乳动物中，特定的化学感应交流依赖于复杂的身体分泌物中的化学信息素释放以及随后的犁鼻器官（VNO）的刺激检测。尿液,丰富的道德相关化学信号来源，传达了关于性的详细信息，社会等级制度，健康,和生殖状态，它可以通过犁鼻采样被特定的对象访问。到目前为止,然而,社会化学信号通路的许多方面仍不清楚。此外，因为几乎所有的研究都是基于来自近交实验室小鼠的分泌物，目前还不确定这种刺激是否提供了在野外发现的潜在更相关的线索的真实表现。这里,我们将稳健的低噪声VNO活性测定与来自两个近交实验室品系以及野生小鼠的性别和品系特异性小鼠尿液样本的比较分子谱分析相结合。这些分泌物的全面分子肖像，VNO活性分析现在使我们能够(I)评估是否和，如果是,尿液中有多少性别/菌株选择性的“原始”化学信息可通过子宫鼻部采样获得；（ii）确定哪些化学物质表现出足够的辨别能力来表明动物的性别，应变，或两者;(iii)确定野生小鼠分泌物独特的程度;和(iv)分析不同品系之间的犁鼻反应谱是否不同。我们报告性别-和，特别是,化学信息的应变选择性VNO表示。在泌尿“分泌物”内，挥发性化合物和蛋白质都表现出足够的辨别能力，以提供性别和菌株特定的分子指纹。虽然男性尿液中的总蛋白质含量基本上丰富，雌性在总体上相对较低的浓度下分泌更大的品种。令人惊讶的是,野生小鼠尿液的分子谱不会大大超过近交系。最后,在C57BL/6和BALB/c动物之间，犁鼻反应谱不同，对女性化学信息素的表述特别不同。
