scholarly journals Integrated action of pheromone signals in promoting courtship behavior in male mice

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka ◽  
Limei Ma ◽  
Jie He ◽  
Qiang Qiu ◽  
Luke D Lavis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Background ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Vomeronasal Receptors ◽  
Female Urine ◽  
Innate Behaviors ◽  
Gender Specific ◽  
Pheromone Information

The mammalian vomeronasal organ encodes pheromone information about gender, reproductive status, genetic background and individual differences. It remains unknown how pheromone information interacts to trigger innate behaviors. In this study, we identify vomeronasal receptors responsible for detecting female pheromones. A sub-group of V1re clade members recognizes gender-identifying cues in female urine. Multiple members of the V1rj clade are cognate receptors for urinary estrus signals, as well as for sulfated estrogen (SE) compounds. In both cases, the same cue activates multiple homologous receptors, suggesting redundancy in encoding female pheromone cues. Neither gender-specific cues nor SEs alone are sufficient to promote courtship behavior in male mice, whereas robust courtship behavior can be induced when the two cues are applied together. Thus, integrated action of different female cues is required in pheromone-triggered mating behavior. These results suggest a gating mechanism in the vomeronasal circuit in promoting specific innate behavior.

scholarly journals Central role of G protein Gαi2 and Gαi2+ vomeronasal neurons in balancing territorial and infant-directed aggression of male mice

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (11) ◽  
pp. 5135-5143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Charlotte Trouillet ◽  
Matthieu Keller ◽  
Jan Weiss ◽  
Trese Leinders-Zufall ◽  
Lutz Birnbaumer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Male Infant ◽  
Lateral Septum ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Protein Subunit ◽  
Α Subunit

Aggression is controlled by the olfactory system in many animal species. In male mice, territorial and infant-directed aggression are tightly regulated by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), but how diverse subsets of sensory neurons convey pheromonal information to limbic centers is not yet known. Here, we employ genetic strategies to show that mouse vomeronasal sensory neurons expressing the G protein subunit Gαi2 regulate male–male and infant-directed aggression through distinct circuit mechanisms. Conditional ablation of Gαi2 enhances male–male aggression and increases neural activity in the medial amygdala (MeA), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and lateral septum. By contrast, conditional Gαi2 ablation causes reduced infant-directed aggression and decreased activity in MeA neurons during male–infant interactions. Strikingly, these mice also display enhanced parental behavior and elevated neural activity in the medial preoptic area, whereas sexual behavior remains normal. These results identify Gαi2 as the primary G protein α-subunit mediating the detection of volatile chemosignals in the apical layer of the VNO, and they show that Gαi2+ VSNs and the brain circuits activated by these neurons play a central role in orchestrating and balancing territorial and infant-directed aggression of male mice through bidirectional activation and inhibition of different targets in the limbic system.

scholarly journals Distorter genes of the mouse t-complex impair male fertility when heterozygous

1987 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary F. Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Male Fertility ◽  
Genetic Background ◽  
Inbred Strains ◽  
Transmission Ratio Distortion ◽  
Chromosome 17 ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
T Complex ◽  
Ratio Distortion ◽  
Harmful Effects

SummaryMale mice heterozygous for two distorter genes, Tcd-1 and Tcd-2, of the mouse t-complex but homozygous wild type for the responder, were generated by crossing animals carrying the partial t-haplotypes th51 and th18 to inbred strains. The fertility of these males was then compared with that of their brothers carrying normal chromosome 17s. On three of the inbred backgrounds used, C3H/HeH, C57BL/6J and TFH/H, the th51th18 + / + + + males were significantly less fertile than their normal sibs. With the fourth inbred strain used, SM/JH, both types of male were nonnally fertile. This confirmed earlier preliminary findings that when both homologues of chromosome 17 carry wild-type alleles of the responder, heterozygosity for the distorter genes is sufficient to impair fertility, but the effect varies with genetic background. These results are consistent with the concept that both the transmission ratio distortion and the male sterility caused by the t-complex are due to harmful effects of the distorter genes on wild-type alleles of the responder.

scholarly journals How Women and Men Pee: Assessing Gender-Specific Urination Practices for a Comfortable Toilet Experience

2021 ◽  
pp. 106480462110440
Author(s):  
Vasco Schelbert ◽  
Lena Kriwanek ◽  
S. Ramesh Sakthivel ◽  
Lotte Kristoferitsch ◽  
Harald Gründl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Separation Efficiency ◽  
Resource Recovery ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Urine ◽  
Urine Separation ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Specific

NoMix toilets separate urine and feces at the source and are a promising resource recovery technology. However, design issues hamper the transformation from unattractive to aspirational products. Little effort has been done to design toilets that account for physiological differences, leading to adverse effects on user-friendliness and urine separation efficiency. We used infrared recordings to assess gender-specific urination practices. Based on field data, we developed the Urinator, a simple device that allows simulating male and female urine streams. This supports engineers in developing more user- and gender-friendly and reuse-oriented sanitation technologies.

scholarly journals Male mice adjust courtship behavior in response to female multimodal signals

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. e0229302
Author(s):  
Kelly L. Ronald ◽  
Xinzhu Zhang ◽  
Matthew V. Morrison ◽  
Ryan Miller ◽  
Laura M. Hurley
Keyword(s):  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Multimodal Signals

scholarly journals Cyclin A1 protein shows haplo-insufficiency for normal fertility in male mice

Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany van der Meer ◽  
W-Y Iris Chan ◽  
Luis S Palazon ◽  
Conrad Nieduszynski ◽  
Martin Murphy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Genetic Background ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Accessory Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Cyclin A1 ◽  
Targeted Disruption ◽  
Severe Reduction ◽  
Higher Eukaryotes

In higher eukaryotes, the cyclins constitute a family of proteins involved in progression through the cell cycle. The cyclin A1 gene (Ccna1) is expressed during meiosis and is required for spermatogenesis. Targeted disruption of the Ccna1 gene with a LacZ reporter gene has allowed us to study the expression pattern of this gene in more detail. We have confirmed expression in mouse pre-meiotic spermatocytes and also detected expression in the accessory olfactory bulb, hippocampus and amygdala of the adult brain. We have also found that the amount of cyclin A1 protein influences the fertility of male mice and its action is modulated by genetic background. On an outbred genetic background (129S6/SvEv × MF1), Ccna1 tm1Col −/− animals are sterile due to spermatogenic arrest prior to the first meiotic division while Ccna1 tm1Col +/− mice show reduced sperm production and fertility. This is even more pronounced on an inbred genetic background (129S6/SvEv) where Ccna1 tm1Col +/− male mice are sterile due to a severe reduction in the total number of sperm.

scholarly journals Oleuropein Induces AMPK-Dependent Autophagy in NAFLD Mice, Regardless of the Gender

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiana Porcu ◽  
Silvia Sideri ◽  
Maurizio Martini ◽  
Alessandra Cocomazzi ◽  
Andrea Galli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Fat Diet ◽  
Liver Steatosis ◽  
Normal Diet ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
High Fat ◽  
Unhealthy Diet ◽  
Autophagic Process ◽  
Related Proteins ◽  
Gender Specific ◽  
Novel Therapeutic

Oleuropein (Ole) is one of the most plentiful phenolic compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. The aim of our study was to establish whether the positive Ole-related effects on liver steatosis could be associated with autophagy. Female and male C57BL/6J mice were fed normal diet (ND) or high-fat diet (HFD) for eight weeks, and Ole was added or not for the following eight weeks. The autophagy-related proteins Akt, mTOR, AMPK, ULK1, Beclin-1, LC3B and p62/Sqstm1 were analyzed. Interestingly, Ole induced a different regulation of the Akt/mTOR pathway in female compared to male mice, but was able to activate the autophagic process in ND and HFD mice through AMPK-dependent phosphorylation of ULK1 at Ser555, regardless of the gender. Our work reveals the ability of Ole to induce, in liver of ND and HFD mice, autophagy independently by gender-specific mTOR activation. We highlight Ole as a novel therapeutic approach to counteract unhealthy diet-related liver steatosis by targeting autophagy.

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