Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The difference of urine between Brandt’s voleLasiopodomys brandtii in the breeding and non-breeding condition

  • Published:
Acta Theriologica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Using animal house experiments we demonstrated that urine odor can elicit physiological changes in the maturation rate of Brandt’s vole (Radde, 1861). We showed that the urine of estrous females, anestrous females and non-breeding males had no effect on the time of sexual maturity of young voles. In contrast, the maturation rate of young female voles was accelerated, and the maturation rate of young male voles was slowed, by exposure to the urine of breeding adult males. Headspace analysis revealed significant differences in the levels of a subset of volatile constituents of urine from breeding and non-breeding males. From a total of 50 components, Propanoic acid, 2,5-Dimethylpyrazine, Dimethyldisulfide, 1-Octene, 1-Hexanol, Hexanoic acid and p-Xylene were observed only in the urine of breeding male Brandt’s voles. All other substances were present in the volatiles from urine of both breeding and non-breeding male Brandt’s vole.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Araneda R. C., Kini A. D. and Firestein S. 2000. The molecular receptive range of an odorant receptor. Nature Neuroscience 3: 1248–1255.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Araneda R. C., Peterlin Z., Zhang X., Chesler A. and Firestein S. 2004. A pharmacological profile of the aldehyde receptor repertoire in rat olfactory epithelium. The Journal of Physiology 555: 743–756.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernier U. R., Kline D. L., Barnard D. R., Schreck C.E. and Yost R. A. 2000. Analysis of human skin emanations by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry- Identification of volatile compounds that are candidate attractants for the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti). Analytical Chemistry 72: 747–756.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brennan P. A. and Keverne E. B. 2004. Something in the air? New insights into mammalian pheromones. Current Biology 14: R81-R89.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown R. E., Schellinck H. M. and West A. M. 1996. The influence of dietary and genetic cues on the ability of rats to discriminate between the urinary odors of MHCcongenic mice. Physiology & Behavior 60: 365–372.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carter C. S., Getz L. L., Gavish L., McDermott J. L. and Arnold P. 1980. Male-related pheromones and the activation of female reproduction in the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). Biology of Reproduction 23: 1038–1045.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Curran A. M., Rabin S. I., Prada P. A. and Furton K. G. 2005. Comparison of the volatile organic compounds present in human odor using SPME-GC/MS. Journal of Chemical Ecology 31: 1607–1619.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haze S., Gozu Y., Nakamura S., Kohno Y., Sawano K., Ohta H. and Yamazaki K. 2001. 2-Nonenal newly found in human body odor tends to increase with aging. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 116: 520–524.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huck U. W., Lisk R. D., Kim S. and Evans A. B. 1989. Olfactory discrimination of estrous condition by the male golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). Behavioral and Neural Biology 51: 1–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Izard M. K. and Vandenbergh J. G. 1982. The effects of bull urine on puberty and calving date in crossbred beef heifers. Journal of Animal Science 55: 1160–1168.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston R. E. 1979. Olfactory preferences, scent marking, and “proceptivity” in female hamsters. Hormones and Behavior 13: 21–39.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Julius D. and Katz L. C. 2004. A Nobel for smell. Cell 119: 747–752.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaluza J. F. and Breer H. 2000. Responsiveness of olfactory neurons to distinct aliphatic aldehydes. Journal of Experimental Biology 203: 927–933.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lai S. C., Vasilieva N. Y. and Johnston R. E. 1996. Odors providing sexual information in Hungarian hamsters: Evidence for an across-odor code. Hormones and Behavior 30: 26–36.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin D. Y., Zhang S. Z., Block E. and Katz L. C. 2005. Encoding social signals in the mouse main olfactory bulb. Nature 434: 470–477.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maruniak J. A. and Bronson F. H. 1976. Gonadotropic responses of male mice to female urine. Endocrinology 99: 963–969.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miyashita K. and Robinson A. B. 1980. Identification of compounds in mouse urine vapor by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 13: 177–184.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Novotny M. V. 2003. Pheromones, binding proteins and receptor responses in rodents. Biochemical Society Transactions 31: 117–122.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeiffer C. A. and Johnston R. E. 1994. Hormonal and behavioral responses of male hamsters to females and female odors: roles of olfaction, the vomeronasal system, and sexual experience. Physiology & Behavior 55: 129–138.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reasner D. S. and Johnston R. E. 1988. Acceleration of reproductive development in female Djungarian hamsters by adult males. Physiology & Behavior 43: 57–64.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richmond M. E. and Conaway C. H. 1969. Induced ovulation and oestrus inMicrotus ochrogaster. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility Supplement 6: 357–376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richmond M. E. and Stehn R. 1976. Olfaction and reproductive behavior in microtine rodents. [In: Mammalian Olfaction: Reproductive Processes, and Behavior. R. L. Doty, ed]. Academic Press, New York: 255–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rock F., Mueller S., Weimar U., Rammensee H. G. and Overath P. 2006. Comparative analysis of volatile constituents from mice and their urine. Journal of Chemical Ecology 32: 1333–1346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwende F. J., Wiesler D., Jorgenson J. W., Carmack M. and Novotny M. 1986. Urinary volatile constituents of the house mouse,Mus musculus, and their endocrine dependency. Journal of Chemical Ecology 12: 277–296.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi D. Z. 1988. A preliminary study on Brandt’s vole distribution region in China and its relation to vegetation and water-temperature conditions. Acta Theriologica Sinica 8: 299–306. [In Chinese with English summary]

    Google Scholar 

  • Soini H. A., Bruce K. E., Wiesler D., David F., Sandra P. and Novotny M. V. 2005. Stir bar sorptive extraction: A new quantitative and comprehensive sampling technique for determination of chemical signal profiles from biological media. Journal of Chemical Ecology 31: 377–392.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singer A. G., Beauchamp G. K. and Yamazaki K. 1997. Volatile signals of the major histocompatibility complex in male mouse urine. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94: 2210–2214.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stowers L. and Marton T. F. 2005. What is a pheromone? Mammalian pheromones reconsidered. Neuron 46: 699–702.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenbergh J. G. 1969. Male odor accelerates female sexual maturation in mice. Endocrinology 84: 658–660.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willse A., Belcher A. M., Preti G., Wahl J. H., Thresher M., Yang P., Yamazaki K. and Beauchamp G. K. 2005. Identification of major histocompatibility complex-regulated body odorants by statistical analysis of a comparative gas chromatography/mass spectrometry experiment. Analytical Chemistry 77: 2348–2361.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xie X. M., Sun R. Y. and Fang J. M. 1994. The mating system and reproduction of Brandt’s voles. Acta Zoologica Sinica 40: 262–265. [In Chinese with English summary]

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin F. and Fang J. M. 1998. Male choice in Brandt’s voles. Acta Zoologica Sinica 44: 162–169. [In Chinese with English summary]

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z. B. 2001. Relationship between outbreaks of Lemmus spp and Microtus spp in Europe and ENSO. Chinese Science Bulletin 46: 197–204. [In Chinese with English summary]

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuanmingyuan Xilu, Haidian, 100094, Beijing, China

    Hong-Chun Liang & Da-Zhao Shi

  2. Tianjin Agricultural University, 22 Jinjing, Xiqing, 300384, Tianjin, China

    Hong-Chun Liang

Authors
  1. Hong-Chun Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Da-Zhao Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Da-Zhao Shi.

Additional information

Associate editor was Karol Zub.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liang, HC., Shi, DZ. The difference of urine between Brandt’s voleLasiopodomys brandtii in the breeding and non-breeding condition. Acta Theriol 52, 277–284 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03194223

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03194223

Key words

Search

Navigation