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Hemiterpenoids and Pyrazines in the Odoriferous Urine of the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

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Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 12

Abstract

Maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) are endemic to South America, monogamous, solitary, and threatened in the wild. Maned wolf urine has a pungent and powerful odour and is used for scent marking. There is evidence to suggest that the presence of a male may be required to initiate oestrus and/or ovulation, thus implying the presence of a primer pheromone. We have employed solid phase dynamic extraction (SPDE)/GC-MS to identify a number of volatile compounds in maned wolf urine. These include sulphur-containing hemiterpenoids which are predominantly responsible for the distinctive urinary odour, hemiterpenoid alcohols which are known bark beetle pheromones, and a variety of pyrazines, some of which are known to be insect pheromones. Hemiterpenoids are most likely biosynthesised via a shunt of the mevalonate pathway, while pyrazines are thought to be products of amino acid metabolism. The abundance of some of these compounds increases as the urine ages, perhaps providing a timed release of putative chemical signals.

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Acknowledgements

Urine samples were provided by the Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and the Little Rock Zoo. We thank Paul Caster of the Little Rock Zoo for assistance in urine collection. We are grateful for the hemiterpenoid and pyrazine samples that were provided by Joe Brophy, Doug Crump, Peter Schieberle, and Tony Woolhouse. TEG appreciates financial support provided by the Hendrix College Odyssey Program, Julia Mobley, and John and Laura Byrd. Funding was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation for the GC-MS (NSF CRUI grant to T.E.G., Bruce Schulte, and the late L.E.L. Rasmussen, Award Nos. 02-17062, -17068 and -16862, respectively) and the NMR spectrometer (NSF MRI grant to Hendrix College, Award No. 1040470).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Hendrix College, Conway, AR, 72032, USA

    Thomas E. Goodwin, Laura J. Broederdorf, Blake A. Burkert, C. Joi Chen, Stephen R. Jackson, K. Bryan Keplinger, Margaret E. Rountree, Zach J. Waldrip, Margaret E. Weddell & Linda P. Desrochers

  2. Department of Reproductive Sciences, Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA

    Nucharin Songsasen

  3. Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA

    William K. Baker Jr.

  4. Panthera Research, Rockwall, TX, 75032, USA

    William K. Baker Jr.

  5. Business Unit Bioscience, Plant Research International, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Johannes P. F. G. Helsper

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  1. Thomas E. Goodwin
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Correspondence to Thomas E. Goodwin .

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  1. , Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife R, Im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V, Berlin, 10252, Berlin, Germany

    Marion L East

  2. , Department of Reproduction Biology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife R, Im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V, Berlin, 10252, Germany

    Martin Dehnhard

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Goodwin, T.E. et al. (2013). Hemiterpenoids and Pyrazines in the Odoriferous Urine of the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). In: East, M., Dehnhard, M. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 12. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5927-9_13

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