Calcium imaging; Main olfactory epithelium; Olfactory behaviour; Volatile organic compounds (VOC); Vomeronasal organ; Animals; Male; Female; Vomeronasal Organ/physiology; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology; Odorants/analysis; Olfactory Mucosa/physiology; Olfactory Mucosa/metabolism; Scent Glands/metabolism; Sex Attractants/urine; Sex Attractants/metabolism; Arvicolinae/physiology; Arvicolinae/urine; Smell/physiology; Volatile Organic Compounds/urine; Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis; Arvicolinae; Odorants; Olfactory Mucosa; Scent Glands; Sex Attractants; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Smell; Volatile Organic Compounds; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Physiology; Animal Science and Zoology; Behavioral Neuroscience
Abstract :
[en] In mammals, especially rodents, social behaviours, such as parenting, territoriality or mate attraction, are largely based on olfactory communication through chemosignals. These behaviours are mediated by species-specific chemosignals, including small organic molecules and proteins that are secreted in the urine or in various fluids from exocrine glands. Chemosignal detection is mainly ensured by olfactory neurons in two specific sensory organs, the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and the main olfactory epithelium (MOE). This study aimed to characterise the olfactory communication in the fossorial ecotype of the water voles, Arvicola terrestris. We first measured the olfactory investigation of urine and lateral scent gland secretions from conspecifics. Our results showed that water voles can discriminate the sex of conspecifics based on the smell of urine, and that urinary male odour is attractive for female voles. Then, we demonstrated the ability of the VNO and MOE to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in water vole secretions using live-cell calcium imaging in dissociated cells. Finally, we evaluated the attractiveness of two mixtures of VOCs from urine or lateral scent glands in the field during a cyclical outbreak of vole populations.
Disciplines :
Zoology
Author, co-author :
Poissenot, Kévin; CNRS, IFCE, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC, F-37380, Nouzilly, France
The authors thank Marie-Claire Blache of the Cellular Imagery Platform (PIC, UMR-PRC), the farmers for the access to their grasslands, and the housing facilities of Campus des C\u00E9zeaux (Universit\u00E9 Clermont Auvergne), and of Unit\u00E9 RS2GP (INRAE VetAgro Sup).This work was supported by the Minist\u00E8re de l\u2019Agriculture et de l\u2019Alimentation, the DRAAF Auvergne-Rh\u00F4ne-Alpes as well as the R\u00E9gion Auvergne-Rh\u00F4ne-Alpes as a part of the \u201Cconvention de Massif Central 2015\u20132020\u201D.
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