Sex-dependent control of pheromones on social organization within groups of wild house mice

Zilkha, Noga; Chuartzman, Silvia; Sofer, Yizhak; Pen, Yefim; Cum, Meghan; Mayo, Avi; Alon, Uri; Kimchi, Tali

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.039

“…These correlations demonstrated that the more aggressive a mouse is, the more it explores its environment and the less likely it is to flee or hide. Because dominant wild-derived mice in semi-natural enclosures are more aggressive and explorative and spend less time hiding than subordinate animals 12, 30 the behavioral organization observed suggested that both hierarchy and territory were firmly established at the conclusion of the two hour challenge period.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Induction of territorial behavior and dominance hierarchies in laboratory mice

Battivelli,

Boldrini,

Jaiswal

et al. 2024

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Territorial behaviors comprise a set of coordinated actions and response patterns found across animal species that promote the exclusive access to resources. House mice are highly territorial with a subset of males consistently attacking and chasing competing males to expel them from their territories and performing urine marking behaviors to signal the extent of their territories. Natural variation in territorial behaviors within a mouse colony leads to the formation of dominance hierarchies in which subordinate males can reside within the territory of a dominant male. While the full repertoire of such territorial behaviors and hierarchies has been extensively studied in wild-derived mice in semi-natural enclosures, so far they have not been established in the smaller enclosures and with the genetically-defined laboratory strains required for the application of neural recording and manipulation methods. Here, we present a protocol to induce an extensive repertoire of territorial behaviors in small enclosures in laboratory mice, including a method for the simultaneous tracking of urine marking behavior in mouse pairs. Using this protocol we describe the emergence of robust dominant-subordinate hierarchies between pairs of CD1 outbred or CD1xB6 F1 hybrid mice, but unexpectedly not in C57BL/6 inbred animals. Our behavioral paradigm opens the door for neurocircuit studies of territorial behaviors and social hierarchy in the laboratory.

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“…These correlations demonstrated that the more aggressive a mouse is, the more it explores its environment and the less likely it is to ee or hide. Because dominant wild-derived mice in semi-natural enclosures are more aggressive and explorative and spend less time hiding than subordinate animals 12,30 the behavioral organization observed suggested that both hierarchy and territory were rmly established at the conclusion of the two hour challenge period.…”

Section: Emergence Of Dominance Hierarchiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Induction of territorial behavior and dominance hierarchies in laboratory mice

Battivelli,

Boldrini,

Jaiswal

et al. 2024

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Territorial behaviors comprise a set of coordinated actions and response patterns found across animal species that promote the exclusive access to resources. House mice are highly territorial with a subset of males consistently attacking and chasing competing males to expel them from their territories and performing urine marking behaviors to signal the extent of their territories. Natural variation in territorial behaviors within a mouse colony leads to the formation of dominance hierarchies in which subordinate males can reside within the territory of a dominant male. While the full repertoire of such territorial behaviors and hierarchies has been extensively studied in wild-derived mice in semi-natural enclosures, so far they have not been established in the smaller enclosures and with the genetically-defined laboratory strains required for the application of neural recording and manipulation methods. Here, we present a protocol to induce an extensive repertoire of territorial behaviors in small enclosures in laboratory mice, including a method for the simultaneous tracking of urine marking behavior in mouse pairs. Using this protocol we describe the emergence of robust dominant-subordinate hierarchies between pairs of CD1 outbred or CD1xB6 F1 hybrid mice, but unexpectedly not in C57BL/6 inbred animals. Our behavioral paradigm opens the door for neurocircuit studies of territorial behaviors and social hierarchy in the laboratory.

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“…The former operates through the main olfactory epithelium and the olfactory bulb and has a significant linkage to the limbic system, playing the main role in both memory retrieval and conscious perception [12]. On the other hand, the VNS, which 2 comprises the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), is implicated in non-conscious influences in sexual behaviour [13,14], maternal identification [15,16], and the detection of predators [17,18], and, therefore, it is specifically tuned to sensing of pheromones [19], kairomones [10], steroids [20], and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Immunohistochemical Demonstration of the Expression of a Type-2 Vomeronasal Receptor, V2R, in Wild Canids

Ortiz-Leal,

Torres,

López-Beceiro

et al. 2024

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The vomeronasal system serves as a pivotal element in mammalian sensory biology, allowing the perception of chemical signals essential for social communication via the activation of two main receptor families, V1R and V2R. The expression of V1Rs and V2Rs is linked with that of the G-protein alpha-subunits, Gαi2 and Gαo, respectively. The exploration of the evolutionary pathways of V1Rs and V2Rs across all mammalian species remains a main challenge, juxtaposing available genomic data against emerging immunohistochemical evidence. However, recent investigations, in contrast to what is predicted by the currently annotated genomic sequences, have revealed the expression of Gαo in the vomeronasal neuroepithelium of wild canids, including wolves and foxes. In the present study, the employment of a specific antibody raised against the mouse V2R2, member of the C-family of vomeronasal receptors, V2Rs, has confirmed the expression of this receptor in the fox and wolf, but it has revealed the lack of expression in the dog. This may reflect the impact of domestication on the regression of the VNS in this species, in contrast to their wild counterparts, and underscores the effects of artificial selection on sensory functions. Thus, these findings suggest a more refined chemical detection capability in wild species.

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Sex-dependent control of pheromones on social organization within groups of wild house mice

Cited by 14 publications

References 139 publications

Induction of territorial behavior and dominance hierarchies in laboratory mice

Induction of territorial behavior and dominance hierarchies in laboratory mice

Induction of territorial behavior and dominance hierarchies in laboratory mice

First Immunohistochemical Demonstration of the Expression of a Type-2 Vomeronasal Receptor, V2R, in Wild Canids

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