Non-invasive measurement of fecal estrogens in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

Meter, Page E. Van; French, Jeffrey A.; Bidali, Kaisa; Weldele, Mary L.; Brown, Janine L.; Holekamp, Kay E.

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2007.08.002

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The findings of this study are consistent with previous reports: influenced by changes in estrogen and progesterone levels in female pandas during estrus, the abundance of sterols and fatty acid esters increases, while the abundance of alkanes and alcohols decreases as estrus progresses ( Meter et al, 2008 ). Also, the non-volatile high molecular weight compounds were significantly enriched in the anaphase, which typically do not play a direct role in chemical communication.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Symbiotic microbiota and odor ensure mating in time for giant pandas

Zheng²,

Guo

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

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To achieve reproduction, male solitary mammals need to locate females using chemical communication with high levels of precision. In the case of giant pandas, the total estrus period of females was usually 15 days each year, however, successful mating activity is finished within 3 days from respective home range. The mating pattern of giant pandas, where multiple males compete for each female requires females employ efficient systems to communicate their estrus phases. To verifying whether the scent secretions of giant pandas changes by gender and estrus progression, the microbiota and compounds in 29 anogenital gland samples from 14 individuals during estrus were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and GC-MS. We show that the microbiota communities covary by gender with 4 particular compounds of scent secretions. Among 597 genera, 34 were identified as biomarkers that could be used to distinguish between different estrus phases. By bacterial-compounds co-analysis, 3 fatty ester acids and squalene compounds covaried with the development of estrus in the bacterial communities of female giant pandas. This study helps clarify how a large, solitary mammal expresses accurate information to improve the likelihood of successful reproduction by changing the composition of microbiota and odor compounds of anogenital glands during estrus.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Symbiotic microbiota and odor ensure mating in time for giant pandas

Zheng²,

Guo

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

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“…The lack of clear difference in testosterone concentrations between male and female twin foetuses, together with higher concentrations in umbilical than foetal jugular vein, was also taken as evidence that maternal testosterone might even contribute to foetal concentrations to some degree (Licht et al 1992). Subsequent reports of increased faecal and serum testosterone concentrations in pregnant vs non-pregnant females (Dloniak et al 2004(Dloniak et al , 2006b, and of progressively increased faecal oestrogen across gestation (Van Meter et al 2008), are consistent with the longitudinal data from pregnancies in the colony (Licht et al 1992).…”

Section: Contributions From the Berkeley Hyaena Colonymentioning

confidence: 55%

Spotted hyaenas and the sexual spectrum: reproductive endocrinology and development

Conley

Place

Legacki

et al. 2020

Journal of Endocrinology

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The spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) is a unique species, even amongst the Hyaenidae. Extreme clitoral development in female spotted hyaenas challenges aspects of the accepted framework of sexual differentiation and reproductive function. They lack a vulva and instead urinate, copulate and give birth through a single, long urogenital canal that traverses a clitoris superficially resembling a penis. Recent and historical evidence is reviewed to describe our changing understanding of the biology of this species. Expanding upon observations from hyaenas in nature, much has been learned from studies utilizing the captive colony at the University of California, Berkeley. The steroid environment of pregnancy is shaped by placental androgen and oestrogen secretion and a late-gestational increase in sex hormone binding globulin, the regulated expression and steroid binding characteristics of which are unique within the Hyaenidae. While initial external genital development is largely free of androgenic influence, the increase in testosterone concentrations in late gestation influences foetal development. Specifically, anti-androgen (AA) treatment of pregnant females reduced the developmental influence of androgens on their foetuses, resulting in reduced androstenedione concentrations in young females and easier birth through a ‘feminized’ clitoris, but precluded intromission and mating by ‘feminized’ male offspring, and altered social interactions. Insight into the costs and benefits of androgen exposure on spotted hyaena reproductive development, endocrinology and behaviour emphasizes the delicate balance that sustains reproductive success, forces a re-evaluation of how we define masculine versus feminine sexual characteristics, and motivates reflection about the representative value of model species.

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“…Here we show that pregnancy can alter the microbiota of specialized signaling organs as well. During pregnancy, spotted hyena females have elevated levels of testosterone and estrogen (44,45). It is well established that steroid hormones are present in mammalian sebaceous and apocrine glands (i.e., the machinery of scent glands) and that they affect gland morphology, production, and chemistry (6,(46)(47)(48).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbiotic bacteria appear to mediate hyena social odors

Theis

Venkataraman²,

Dycus³

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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191

169

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All animals harbor beneficial microbes. One way these microbes can benefit their animal hosts is by increasing the diversity and efficacy of communication signals available to the hosts. The fermentation hypothesis for mammalian chemical communication posits that bacteria in the scent glands of mammals generate odorous metabolites used by their hosts for communication and that variation in host chemical signals is a product of underlying variation in the bacterial communities inhabiting the scent glands. An effective test of this hypothesis would require accurate surveys of the bacterial communities in mammals' scent glands and complementary data on the odorant profiles of scent secretions-both of which have been historically lacking. Here we use next-generation sequencing to survey deeply the bacterial communities in the scent glands of wild spotted and striped hyenas. We show that these communities are dominated by fermentative bacteria and that the structures of these communities covary with the volatile fatty acid profiles of scent secretions in both hyena species. The bacterial and volatile fatty acid profiles of secretions differ between spotted and striped hyenas, and both profiles vary with sex and reproductive state among spotted hyenas within a single social group. Our results strongly support the fermentation hypothesis for chemical communication, suggesting that symbiotic bacteria underlie species-specific odors in both spotted and striped hyenas and further underlie sex and reproductive state-specific odors among spotted hyenas. We anticipate that the fermentation hypothesis for chemical communication will prove broadly applicable among scent-marking mammals as others use the technical and analytical approaches used here.animal behavior | animal communication | microbiome

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Non-invasive measurement of fecal estrogens in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

Cited by 9 publications

References 42 publications

Symbiotic microbiota and odor ensure mating in time for giant pandas

Symbiotic microbiota and odor ensure mating in time for giant pandas

Spotted hyaenas and the sexual spectrum: reproductive endocrinology and development

Symbiotic bacteria appear to mediate hyena social odors

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