open access

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/63352

Female mice avoid male odor from the same strain via the vomeronasal system in an estrogen-dependent manner

英語

pheromone

2015-11

Oxford University Press

Chemical Senses

40(9)

641-648

Inbreeding avoidance is essential to providing offspring with genetic diversity. Females' mate choice is more crucial than males' for successful reproduction because of the high cost of producing gametes and limited chances to mate. However, the mechanism of female inbreeding avoidance is still unclear. To elucidate the mechanism underlying inbreeding avoidance by females, we conducted Y-maze behavioral assays using BALB/c and C57BL/6 female mice. In both strains, the avoidance of male urine from the same strain was lower in the low estrogen phase than in the high estrogen phase. The estrous cycle-dependent avoidance was completely prevented by vomeronasal organ (VNO) removal. To assess the regulation of the vomeronasal system by estrogen, the neural excitability was evaluated by immunohistochemistry of the immediate early gene products. Although estrogen did not affect neural excitability in the VNO, estrogen enhanced the neural excitability of the mitral cell layer in the AOB induced by urine from the cognate males. These results suggest that female mice avoid odor from genetically similar males in an estrogen-dependent manner via the vomeronasal system and the excitability of the mitral cells in the AOB is presumed to be regulated by estrogen.

学術雑誌論文

Accepted Manuscript

This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Chemical Senses following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Chem. Senses (2015) 40 (9): 641-648 is available online at: http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/content/40/9/641

0379-864X

1464-3553

AA00142441