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Chemical Senses Advance Access published online on July 24, 2008
Chemical Senses, doi:10.1093/chemse/bjn045
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The Identification of Attractive Volatiles in Aged Male Mouse Urine

Kazumi Osada1, Takuya Tashiro2, Kenji Mori2 and Hiroshi Izumi1

1 Department of Oral Biology, Division of Physiology, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido 061-0293, Japan 2 RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan

Correspondence to be sent to: Kazumi Osada, Department of Oral Biology, Division of Physiology, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido 061-0293, JAPAN. e-mail: osadak{at}hoku-iryo-u.ac.jp


  Abstract

In many species, older males are often preferred mates because they carry "good" genes that account for their viability. In some animals, including mice, which rely heavily on chemical communication, there is some indication that an animal's age can be determined by its scent. In order to identify the attractants in aged male mouse urine, chemical and behavioral studies were performed. We herein show that aged mice have higher levels of 3,4-dehydro-exo- brevicomin (DB), 2-sec-butyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole (BT), and 2-isopropyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole (IT) and a lower level of 6-hydroxy-6-methyl-3-heptanone relative to adult male mice. We also demonstrate that the attraction of females to the odor of male mouse urine is greater when the urine is from aged males. However, the attraction of aged urine odor was offset by the ultrafiltration of adult and aged mouse urine. When DB, BT, and IT were added to adult urine, the attraction of the urine was enhanced. Our results suggest that inbred aged male mice develop an aging odor that is attractive to female mice in an experimental setting and that this attraction is due to increased mouse pheromone signaling.

Key words: age discrimination, mating, mouse, pheromones, urinary volatiles, urine odor

Accepted 22 June 2008


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K. Osada, M. Kashiwayanagi, and H. Izumi
Profiles of Volatiles in Male Rat Urine: The Effect of Puberty on the Female Attraction
Chem Senses, October 1, 2009; 34(8): 713 - 721.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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