Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences/Key Laboratory of Bioactive Peptides of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 650223 Kunming, China.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Dec 22;117(51):32493-32498. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2004640117. Epub 2020 Dec 7.
Attraction to feces in wild mammalian species is extremely rare. Here we introduce the horse manure rolling (HMR) behavior of wild giant pandas (). Pandas not only frequently sniffed and wallowed in fresh horse manure, but also actively rubbed the fecal matter all over their bodies. The frequency of HMR events was highly correlated with an ambient temperature lower than 15 °C. BCP/BCPO (beta-caryophyllene/caryophyllene oxide) in fresh horse manure was found to drive HMR behavior and attenuated the cold sensitivity of mice by directly targeting and inhibiting transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8), an archetypical cold-activated ion channel of mammals. Therefore, horse manure containing BCP/BCPO likely bestows the wild giant pandas with cold tolerance at low ambient temperatures. Together, our study described an unusual behavior, identified BCP/BCPO as chemical inhibitors of TRPM8 ion channel, and provided a plausible chemistry-auxiliary mechanism, in which animals might actively seek and utilize potential chemical resources from their habitat for temperature acclimatization.
野生哺乳动物对粪便的吸引力极为罕见。在这里，我们介绍野生大熊猫的马粪滚动（HMR）行为。大熊猫不仅频繁地嗅探和浸泡在新鲜的马粪中，还积极地将粪便涂抹在全身。HMR 事件的频率与环境温度低于 15°C 高度相关。在新鲜马粪中发现的 BCP/BCPO（β-石竹烯/石竹烯氧化物）驱动 HMR 行为，并通过直接靶向和抑制瞬时受体潜力 melastatin 8（TRPM8）来减轻小鼠对寒冷的敏感性，TRPM8 是哺乳动物典型的冷激活离子通道。因此，含有 BCP/BCPO 的马粪可能使野生大熊猫在环境温度较低时具有耐寒性。总之，我们的研究描述了一种不寻常的行为，确定了 BCP/BCPO 是 TRPM8 离子通道的化学抑制剂，并提供了一种合理的化学辅助机制，动物可能会主动从其栖息地中寻找和利用潜在的化学资源来适应温度。
