摘要
Chemical communication plays an important role in kin selection and mate choice in mammals. The covariance of odor-genes of rodents has been documented and kinship odor has been proposed and termed, yet little is known of the relationship between genetic relatedness and chemical composition of kinship odors. Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) rely substantially on chemical communication to mediate their social interactions. To examine the relationship between genetic relatedness and compounds in the urine/anogenital gland secretions, we compared the similarities between genetic relatedness and the chemical profiles of anogenital gland secretions and urine via lineage construction and GC-MS (gas chromatography and mass spectrometry). We found that information about kinship odors was present only in the urine of male adults in the mating season but absent in the non-mating season. Adult females and all sub-adults did not have such kinship odors in either mating or non-mating season. Therefore, kinship odor in the panda was contingent on age, sex, and season. This is the first report about the condition-dependent expression of kinship odor, which may have a sig- nificant implication in the practice of panda conservation in relation to chemical communication and sexual selection.
Chemical communication plays an important role in kin selection and mate choice in mammals. The covariance of odor-genes of rodents has been documented and kinship odor has been proposed and termed, yet little is known of the relationship between genetic relatedness and chemical composition of kinship odors. Giant pandas （Ailuropoda melanoleuca） rely substantially on chemical communication to mediate their social interactions. To examine the relationship between genetic relatedness and compounds in the urine/anogenital gland secretions, we compared the similarities between genetic relatedness and the chemical profiles of anogenital gland secretions and urine via lineage construction and GC-MS （gas chromatography and mass spectrometry）. We found that information about kinship odors was present only in the urine of male adults in the mating season but absent in the non-mating season. Adult females and all sub-adults did not have such kinship odors in either mating or non-mating season. Therefore, kinship odor in the panda was contingent on age, sex, and season. This is the first report about the condition-dependent expression of kinship odor, which may have a significant implication in the practice of panda conservation in relation to chemical communication and sexual selection.
基金
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30470233, 30170169 and 30230080)
Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (Grant No. 98002717)
China Wildlife Conservation Associa-tion (Grant Nos. 96035 and WH0309)
关键词
亲属关系
雄性大熊猫
尿液
基因型
kinship odor, giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, anogenital gland secretions, urine
