Centre for Proteome Research, Department of Biochemistry and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom.
Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Liverpool CH64 7TE, United Kingdom.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Jun 20;120(25):e2300794120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2300794120. Epub 2023 Jun 12.
Chemical communication by females remains poorly understood, with most attention focused on female advertisement of sexual receptivity to males or mother-offspring communication. However, in social species, scents are likely to be important for mediating competition and cooperation between females determining individual reproductive success. Here, we explore chemical signaling by female laboratory rats () to test i) whether females target their deployment of scent information differentially according to their sexual receptivity and the genetic identity of both female and male conspecifics signaling in the local environment and ii) whether females are attracted to gain the same or different information from female scents compared to males. Consistent with targeting of scent information to colony members of similar genetic background, female rats increased scent marking in response to scents from females of the same strain. Females also suppressed scent marking in response to male scent from a genetically foreign strain while sexually receptive. Proteomic analysis of female scent deposits revealed a complex protein profile, contributed from several sources but dominated by clitoral gland secretion. In particular, female scent marks contained a series of clitoral-derived hydrolases and proteolytically truncated major urinary proteins (MUPs). Manipulated blends of clitoral secretion and urine from estrus females were strongly attractive to both sexes, while voided urine alone stimulated no interest. Our study reveals that information about female receptive status is shared between females as well as with males, while clitoral secretions containing a complex set of truncated MUPs and other proteins play a key role in female communication.
雌性的化学通讯仍然知之甚少，大多数注意力集中在雌性对雄性的性接受度的广告宣传或母婴通讯上。然而，在社会性物种中，气味很可能对调节雌性之间的竞争和合作以及个体繁殖成功至关重要。在这里，我们探索了雌性实验室大鼠（）的化学信号传递，以测试 i）雌性是否根据其性接受度以及本地环境中信号发出的雌性和雄性同种异体的遗传身份，有差异地靶向其气味信息的部署，以及 ii）与雄性相比，雌性是否会被雌性气味吸引以获得相同或不同的信息。与将气味信息靶向于具有相似遗传背景的群体成员一致，雌性大鼠对来自同一品系的雌性的气味反应增加了气味标记。雌性大鼠在性接受时也会抑制对来自遗传上不同品系的雄性气味的气味标记。对雌性气味沉积物的蛋白质组分析显示，存在来自多个来源但主要来自阴蒂腺分泌物的复杂蛋白质谱。特别是，雌性气味标记物包含一系列阴蒂衍生的水解酶和蛋白水解截断的主要尿蛋白（MUP）。发情雌性的阴蒂分泌物和尿液的人为混合物对两性都具有强烈的吸引力，而单独的尿液则没有引起兴趣。我们的研究表明，关于雌性接受状态的信息不仅在雌性之间共享，也与雄性共享，而含有一系列截断的 MUP 和其他蛋白质的阴蒂分泌物在雌性通讯中起着关键作用。
