| Title: | Murine pheromone proteins constitute a context-dependent combinatorial code governing multiple social behaviors |
| Author(s): | Kaur AW; Ackels T; Kuo TH; Cichy A; Dey S; Hays C; Kateri M; Logan DW; Marton TF; Spehr M; Stowers L; |
| Address: | "Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany. Institute of Statistics, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany. Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Welcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1HH, UK. Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Electronic address: stowers@scripps.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cell.2014.02.025 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1097-4172 (Electronic) 0092-8674 (Print) 0092-8674 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "During social interactions, an individual's behavior is largely governed by the subset of signals emitted by others. Discrimination of 'self' from 'other' regulates the territorial urine countermarking behavior of mice. To identify the cues for this social discrimination and understand how they are interpreted, we designed an olfactory-dependent countermarking assay. We find major urinary proteins (MUPs) sufficient to elicit countermarking, and unlike other vomeronasal ligands that are detected by specifically tuned sensory neurons, MUPs are detected by a combinatorial strategy. A chemosensory signature of 'self' that modulates behavior is developed via experience through exposure to a repertoire of MUPs. In contrast, aggression can be elicited by MUPs in an experience-independent but context-dependent manner. These findings reveal that individually emitted chemical cues can be interpreted based on their combinatorial permutation and relative ratios, and they can transmit both fixed and learned information to promote multiple behaviors" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Female Ligands Male Mice/*physiology Mice, Inbred BALB C Mice, Inbred C57BL Pheromones/*analysis/*metabolism Proteins/*analysis/*metabolism *Social Behavior;neuroscience;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineKaur, Angeldeep W Ackels, Tobias Kuo, Tsung-Han Cichy, Annika Dey, Sandeepa Hays, Cristen Kateri, Maria Logan, Darren W Marton, Tobias F Spehr, Marc Stowers, Lisa eng R01 DC006885/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01 DC009413/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2014/04/29 Cell. 2014 Apr 24; 157(3):676-88. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.02.025" |
