Heterogeneity of Major Urinary Proteins in House Mice: Population and Sex Differences

Payne, Caroline E.; Malone, Nick; Humphries, Rick E.; Bradbrook, Carl; Veggerby, Christina; Beynon, Robert J.; Hurst, Jane L.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-0671-3_31

Cited by 24 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In the case of differential expression, additional control mechanisms have to be postulated in relation to specific control of expression. That would be in agreement with findings of Payne et al (2001), who demonstrated on individual samples that at a later age some MUPs appeared that were not present in males at 21-27 days. Hence, MUP profiles could undergo stepwise changes due to independent regulation of particular MUP genes.…”

Section: Mup Signaling Of Competitive Abilitiessupporting

confidence: 92%

A qualitative investigation of major urinary proteins in relation to the onset of aggressive behavior and dispersive motivation in male wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

Rusu

Krackow

Jedelský

et al. 2007

J Ethol

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The physiological basis for population differentiation of dispersal timing during individual development in male wild house mice is still unknown. As major urinary proteins (MUPs) are known to convey information about competitive ability in male mice, we examined individual MUP profiles defined by isoelectric-focusing (IEF) patterns in relation to developmental timing of dispersive motivation. As an experimental paradigm marking the development of the dispersal propensity, we used agonistic onset between litter mate brothers when kept in pairs under laboratory conditions. Agonistic onset is known to reflect the initiation of dispersive motivation. Hence, we compared individual MUP IEF patterns between fraternal pairs that did or did not develop agonistic relationships before the age of 2 months. Urine was collected on the day of weaning and at the beginning of adulthood. We investigated whether there was a significant co-occurrence of particular MUP IEF patterns with the agonistic onset in male mice. We assumed that, based on this co-occurrence, particular MUP IEF patterns and/or a particular dynamic of MUP IEF expression from weaning to adulthood may be considered a physiological predictor of a specific behavioral strategy in male mice (i.e. submissive-philopatric or agonistic-dispersive strategy). We found that agonistic males expressed more MUP IEF bands than amicable ones at weaning, but these differences disappeared later on. The presence of two particular IEF bands at weaning was significantly associated with early agonistic onset. Our study suggests that MUPs could have a predictive value for the onset of aggressive behavior and dispersal tendency in male wild house mice.

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Section: Mup Signaling Of Competitive Abilitiessupporting

confidence: 92%

A qualitative investigation of major urinary proteins in relation to the onset of aggressive behavior and dispersive motivation in male wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

Rusu

Krackow

Jedelský

et al. 2007

J Ethol

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“…Urinary MUPs are expressed at high concentrations by adult mice of both sexes (Beynon et al, 2002;Payne et al, 2001), although males invest more than females in urine marks (Hurst, 1990c;Maruniak et al, 1975) and MUP production (Beynon et al, 2002;Stopka et al, 2007). Individual mice express many different MUP patterns , which may be essential in allowing mice to distinguish another mouse's urine mark from their own Nevison et al, 2003).…”

Section: The Major Urinary Proteinsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Scent marking behavior as an odorant communication in mice

Arakawa

Blanchard

Arakawa

et al. 2008

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

201

149

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In rodents, where chemical signals play a particularly important role in determining intraspecies interactions including social dominance and intersexual relationships, various studies have shown that behavior is sensitive to conspecific odor cues. Mice use urinary scent marks for communication with individual conspecifics in many social contexts. Urinary scent involves genetic information about individuals such as species, sex, and individual identity as well as metabolic information such as social dominance, and reproductive and health status, which are mediated by chemical proteins in scent marks including the major histocompatibility complex and the major urinary proteins. The odor of the predator which can be considered to be a threatening signal for the prey also modulate mouse behavior in which scent marking is suppressed in response to the cat odor exposure in mice. These odorant chemicals are detected and recognized through two olfactory bulbs, the role of which in detection of chemosignals with biological relevant appears to be differential, but partly overlapped. Mice deposit scent marks toward conspecifics to maintain their social relationships, and inhibit scent marking in a context where natural predator, cat odor is contained. This suppression of scent marking is long-lasting (for at least 7 days) and context-dependent, while the odorant signaling to conspecifics tends to appear frequently (over 24h but less than 7 days intervals) depending on the familiarity of each signal-recipient. It has been discussed that scent marking is a communicative behavior associated with territoriality toward conspecifics, indicating that the social signaling within species are sensitive to predator odor cues in terms of vulnerability to predation risk.

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“…C: A mouse probably expresses at least 5 urinary MUP genes, and in wild populations, this leads to the expression of around 8-14 electrophoretically separable MUP isoforms in urine. (34,35) One of the challenges has been to explain why a simple role of ligand binding and release should require such a complex mixture of virtually identical protein structures. Most of the polymorphic variation between different MUPs is in residues that are on the surface of the structure.…”

Section: Chemical Defence Among Micementioning

confidence: 99%

“…(37) This sex difference occurs at puberty when there is an increase in excretion among males, with staged activation of some MUPs. (34) In males, MUPs bind a number of ligands but principally the two male-specific signalling volatiles thiazole and brevicomin such that almost all thiazole and brevicomin in fresh male urine is bound to these proteins. (38)(39)(40) Once urine is deposited as a scent mark, the binding of signalling volatiles to MUPs greatly slows down their evaporation from the scent mark, (41,42) considerably extending the duration over which volatiles are detected from a distance.…”

Section: Chemical Defence Among Micementioning

confidence: 99%

Scent wars: the chemobiology of competitive signalling in mice

2004

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Many mammals use scent marks to advertise territory ownership, but only recently have we started to understand the complexity of these scent signals and the types of information that they convey. Whilst attention has generally focused on volatile odorants as the main information molecules in scents, studies of the house mouse have now defined a role for a family of proteins termed major urinary proteins (MUPs) which are, of course, involatile. MUPs bind male signalling volatiles and control their release from scent marks. These proteins are also highly polymorphic and the pattern of polymorphic variants provides a stable ownership signal that communicates genome-derived information on the individual identity of the scent owner. Here we review the interaction between the chemical basis of mouse scents and the dynamics of their competitive scent marking behaviour, demonstrating how it is possible to provide reliable signals of the competitive ability and identity of individual males.

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Heterogeneity of Major Urinary Proteins in House Mice: Population and Sex Differences

Cited by 24 publications

References 29 publications

A qualitative investigation of major urinary proteins in relation to the onset of aggressive behavior and dispersive motivation in male wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

A qualitative investigation of major urinary proteins in relation to the onset of aggressive behavior and dispersive motivation in male wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

Scent marking behavior as an odorant communication in mice

Scent wars: the chemobiology of competitive signalling in mice

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