Abstract
Volatile compounds of the male rat preputial gland extracts were found to containn-aliphatic acetates, by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Female rats preferred the odor of various saturated and unsaturatedn-aliphatic acetates while the male rats were repelled by or indifferent to, most of these compounds. A bioassay apparatus recorded the number of approaches and the investigation time for each animal offered the test compounds. The possibility of aliphatic acetates' involvement as sex attractants produced by the male rat is considered.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bronson, F.H. 1971. Rodent pheromones.Biol. Reprod. 4:344–357.
Bronson, F.H. 1974. Pheromonal influences on reproductive activities in rodents. Pages 344–365,in M.C. Birch (ed.),Pheromones. Elsevier, New York.
Caroom, D., andBronson, F.H. 1971. Responsiveness of female mice to preputial attractant: Effect of sexual experience and ovarian hormones.Physiol. Behav. 7:659–662.
Carr, W.J., andCaul, W.F. 1962. The effect of castration in rats upon discrimination of sex odors.Anim. Behav. 10:20–27.
Carr, W.J., Loeb, L.S., andDissinger, M.L. 1965. Responses of rats to sex odors.J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 59:370–377.
Carr, W.J., Loeb, L.S., andWylie, N.R. 1966. Responses to feminine odors in normal and castrated male rats.J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 62:336–338.
Carr, W.J., Wylie, N.R., andLoeb, L.S. 1970. Responses of adult and immature rats to sex odors.J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 72:51–59.
Curtis, R.F., Ballantine, J.A., Keverne, E.B., Bonsall, R.W., andMichael, R.P. 1971. Identification of primate sexual pheromones and the properties of synthetic attractants.Nature 232:396–398.
Fleming, A.S., andRosenblatt, J.S. 1974. Olfactory regulation of maternal behavior in rats.J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 86:221–246.
Gawienowski, A.M., Orsulak, P.J., Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis, M., andJoseph, B. 1975. Presence of sex pheromone in preputial gland of male rats.J. Endocrinol. 67:283–288.
Gawienowski, A.M., Orsulak, P.J., Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis, M., andPratt, J.J. Jr. 1976. Attractant effect of female preputial gland extracts on the male rat.Psychoneuroendocrinology 1:411–418.
Mykytowycz, R. 1974. Odor in the spacing behavior in mammals. Pages 328–343,in M.C. Birch (ed.),Pheromones. Elsevier, New York.
Orsulak, P.J., andGawienowski, A.M. 1972. Olfactory preferences for the rat preputial gland.Biol. Reprod. 6:219–223.
Parkes, A.S., andBruce, H.M. 1961. Olfactory stimuli in mammalian reproduction.Science 134:1049–1054.
Sansone-Bazzano, G., Bazzano, G., Reisner, R.M., andHamilton, J.G. 1972. Hormonal induction of alkyl glycerol, wax and alkyl acetate synthesis in the preputial gland of the mouse.Biochem. Biophys. Acta 260:35–40.
Schultz, E.F., andTapp, J.F. 1973. Olfactory control of behavior in rodents.Psychol. Bull. 79:21–44.
Spener, J., Mangold, H.K., Sansone, G., andHamilton, J.G. 1969. Long-chain alkyl acetates in the preputial gland of the mouse.Biochim. Biophys. Acta 192:516–521.
Steel, R.G.D., andTorrie, J.H. 1960.Principles and procedures of statistics. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Stoddart, D.N. 1974. The role of odor in the social biology of small mammals. Pages 297–315,in M.C. Birch (ed.),Pheromones. Elsevier, New York.
Thiessen, D.D. 1973. Footholds for survival.Am. Sci. 61:346–351.
Thiessen, D.D., Regnier, F.E., Rice, M., Goodwin, M., Isaacs, N., andLawson, N. 1974. Identification of a ventral scent marking pheromone in the male mongolian gerbil(Meriones unguiculatus).Science 184:83–85.
Whitten, W.K. 1966. Pheromones and mammalian reproduction. Pages 155–177,in A. McLaren (ed.),Advances in reproductive physiology, vol. 1. Academic Press, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis, M., Gawienowski, A.M. Rat olfactory response to aliphatic acetates. J Chem Ecol 3, 411–417 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988184
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988184