Solomon N G, Vandenbergh J G, Wekesa K S, Barghusen L
Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, USA.
Biol Reprod. 1996 May;54(5):1038-45. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod54.5.1038.
Among various arvicoline rodents, reproduction is influenced to varying degrees by social factors, including behavioral or chemical cues. Since previous research suggested that chemosignals from adult males reproductively activate female pine voles (Microtus pine-torum), we sought to determine specifically what types of stimuli promote the activation response. In these experiments, female were exposed to unfamiliar adult males, or to some combination of cues from males, or were housed alone. Using uterine mass as a measure of reproductive activation, we found that females were not activated by exposure either to male urine by itself or to male-soiled bedding by itself, but full contact with a male clearly resulted in heavier uteri. Females whose vomeronasal organs were surgically excised failed to undergo reproductive activation when housed with males. Finally, females allowed physical contact by being housed directly underneath males had heavier uteri than did females whose housing allowed contact only with the chemical cues from males. Among female arvicoline rodents, it appears that there exists a physiological continuum between absolute dependence on both contact and chemical cues from males vs. absolute independence for reproductive activation. The present results place female pine voles closer to the former extreme than to the latter.
在各种田鼠类啮齿动物中，繁殖受到包括行为或化学信号在内的社会因素不同程度的影响。由于先前的研究表明成年雄性的化学信号会使雌性松田鼠（Microtus pinetorum）产生生殖激活，我们试图具体确定哪些类型的刺激会促进激活反应。在这些实验中，雌性被暴露于陌生成年雄性，或雄性的某些信号组合，或单独饲养。以子宫重量作为生殖激活的衡量指标，我们发现雌性单独接触雄性尿液或雄性弄脏的垫料并不会被激活，但与雄性的充分接触显然会导致子宫更重。嗅球器官被手术切除的雌性与雄性饲养在一起时未能发生生殖激活。最后，直接饲养在雄性下方从而能够进行身体接触的雌性比那些仅能接触雄性化学信号的雌性子宫更重。在雌性田鼠类啮齿动物中，似乎在完全依赖雄性的接触和化学信号与生殖激活完全独立之间存在生理连续性。目前的结果表明雌性松田鼠更接近前者而非后者。
