The host microbial community is thought to have an important role in the host endocrine system and behavioral phenotype. We investigated chronological changes of levels of gonadal hormones and corticosterone in the feces of 4‐ to 8‐week‐old female germ‐free (GF) mice, and conducted odor preference test at 8 weeks of age. We further evaluated the developmental impact of the microbial community by analyzing 4‐week‐old GF mice orally administered the fecal microbiota of specific pathogen‐free (SPF) mice or guinea pigs (GF‐SPF mice or GF‐Guinea pig mice). The fecal estradiol, progesterone, and corticosterone levels of GF mice were lower than those of SPF mice. Furthermore, the increased levels in GF mice were suggested to be caused by colonization of microbiota of SPF mice or guinea pigs. However, the degree of recovery of progesterone and corticosterone by microbiota of guinea pigs was lower than that by SPF mice. In odor preference tests, interestingly, female GF mice preferred female odors to male odors, although this preference was not seen in other mice. These findings suggested that the microbial community plays an important role in the development of the host endocrine system for gonadal hormones and corticosterone, and odor preference in mice.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.