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Predators use them to find preyEdit

File:Meat eater ants feeding on honey02.jpg




Prey use them to adjust to predatorsEdit


Mice are instinctively afraid of the smell of their natural predators, including cats and rats. This occurs even in laboratory mice that have been isolated from predators for hundreds of generations.[4] When the chemical cues responsible for the fear response were purified from cat saliva and rat urine, two homologous protein signals were identified: Fel d 4 (Felis domesticus allergen 4), the product of the cat Mup gene, and Rat n 1 (Rattus norvegicus allergen 1), the product of the rat Mup13 gene.[5][6][7] Mice are fearful of these major urinary proteins (Mups) even when they are made in bacteria, but mutant animals that are unable to detect the Mups shown no fear of rats demonstrating their importance in initiating fearful behaviour.[5][8] It is not known exactly how Mups from different species initiate disparate behaviours, but mouse Mups and predator Mups have been shown to activate unique patterns of sensory neurons in the nose of recipient mice. This implies the mouse perceives them differently, via distinct neural circuits.[5][6] The pheromone receptors responsible for Mup detection are also unknown, though they are thought be members of the V2R receptor class.[6][9]



See alsoEdit


  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Grasswitz, T.R. and G.R. Jones (2002), "Chemical Ecology", Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., doi:10.1038/npg.els.0001716 
  2. Wyatt, Tristram D. (2003). Pheromones and Animal Behaviour, 2, 230–31, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  3. Gilbert, S.F. (2001), "Predator-induced Polyphenism", Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., doi:10.1038/npg.els.0003305 
  4. includeonly>Ehrenberg, Rachel. "Fight or flee, it's in the pee", 5 June 2010.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Papes F, Logan DW, Stowers, L (May 2010). The Vomeronasal Organ Mediates Interspecies Defensive Behaviors through Detection of Protein Pheromone Homologs. Cell 141 (4): 692–703.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Rodriguez I (May 2010). The chemical MUPpeteer. Cell 141 (4): 568–70.
  7. Why mice fear the smell of cats. BBC News. URL accessed on [[18 May 2010]].
  8. includeonly>Bhanoo, Sindya. "When a Mouse Smells a Rat", 17 May 2010.
  9. Chamero P, Marton TF, Logan DW, et al. (December 2007). Identification of protein pheromones that promote aggressive behaviour. Nature 450 (7171): 899–902.

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