Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice.
The common grey wolf (Canis lupus) is found throughout the entire Northern hemisphere and preys on many kinds of mammals. The urine of the wolf contains a number of volatile constituents that can potentially be used for predator-prey chemosignalling. Although wolf urine is put to practical use to ke...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f758848deef9405793768a057ea333b0 2023-05-15T15:51:03+02:00 Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. Kazumi Osada Kenzo Kurihara Hiroshi Izumi Makoto Kashiwayanagi 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061753 https://doaj.org/article/f758848deef9405793768a057ea333b0 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3634846?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061753 https://doaj.org/article/f758848deef9405793768a057ea333b0 PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 4, p e61753 (2013) Medicine R Science Q article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061753 2022-12-31T14:42:31Z The common grey wolf (Canis lupus) is found throughout the entire Northern hemisphere and preys on many kinds of mammals. The urine of the wolf contains a number of volatile constituents that can potentially be used for predator-prey chemosignalling. Although wolf urine is put to practical use to keep rabbits, rodents, deer and so on at bay, we are unaware of any prior behavioural studies or chemical analyses regarding the fear-inducing impact of wolf urine on laboratory mice.Three wolf urine samples harvested at different times were used in this study. All of them induced stereotypical fear-associated behaviors (i.e., avoidance and freezing) in female mice. The levels of certain urinary volatiles varied widely among the samples. To identify the volatiles that provoked avoidance and freezing, behavioural, chemical, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. One of the urine samples (sample C) had higher levels of 2,6-dimethylpyrazine (DMP), trimethylpyrazine (TMP), and 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethyl pyrazine (EDMP) compared with the other two urine samples (samples A and B). In addition, sample C induced avoidance and freezing behaviours more effectively than samples A and B. Moreover, only sample C led to pronounced expression of Fos-immunoreactive cells in the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) of female mice. Freezing behaviour and Fos immunoreactivity were markedly enhanced when the mice were confronted with a mixture of purified DMP, TMP, and EDMP vs. any one pyrazine alone.The current results suggest that wolf urinary volatiles can engender aversive and fear-related responses in mice. Pyrazine analogues were identified as the predominant active components among these volatiles to induce avoidance and freezing behaviours via stimulation of the murine AOB. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLoS ONE 8 4 e61753 |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Kazumi Osada Kenzo Kurihara Hiroshi Izumi Makoto Kashiwayanagi Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
The common grey wolf (Canis lupus) is found throughout the entire Northern hemisphere and preys on many kinds of mammals. The urine of the wolf contains a number of volatile constituents that can potentially be used for predator-prey chemosignalling. Although wolf urine is put to practical use to keep rabbits, rodents, deer and so on at bay, we are unaware of any prior behavioural studies or chemical analyses regarding the fear-inducing impact of wolf urine on laboratory mice.Three wolf urine samples harvested at different times were used in this study. All of them induced stereotypical fear-associated behaviors (i.e., avoidance and freezing) in female mice. The levels of certain urinary volatiles varied widely among the samples. To identify the volatiles that provoked avoidance and freezing, behavioural, chemical, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. One of the urine samples (sample C) had higher levels of 2,6-dimethylpyrazine (DMP), trimethylpyrazine (TMP), and 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethyl pyrazine (EDMP) compared with the other two urine samples (samples A and B). In addition, sample C induced avoidance and freezing behaviours more effectively than samples A and B. Moreover, only sample C led to pronounced expression of Fos-immunoreactive cells in the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) of female mice. Freezing behaviour and Fos immunoreactivity were markedly enhanced when the mice were confronted with a mixture of purified DMP, TMP, and EDMP vs. any one pyrazine alone.The current results suggest that wolf urinary volatiles can engender aversive and fear-related responses in mice. Pyrazine analogues were identified as the predominant active components among these volatiles to induce avoidance and freezing behaviours via stimulation of the murine AOB. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kazumi Osada Kenzo Kurihara Hiroshi Izumi Makoto Kashiwayanagi |
author_facet |
Kazumi Osada Kenzo Kurihara Hiroshi Izumi Makoto Kashiwayanagi |
author_sort |
Kazumi Osada |
title |
Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. |
title_short |
Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. |
title_full |
Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. |
title_fullStr |
Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. |
title_sort |
pyrazine analogues are active components of wolf urine that induce avoidance and freezing behaviours in mice. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061753 https://doaj.org/article/f758848deef9405793768a057ea333b0 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 4, p e61753 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3634846?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061753 https://doaj.org/article/f758848deef9405793768a057ea333b0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061753 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
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8 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
e61753 |
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1766386107276066816 |