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Chemical Characterization of Urinary Pheromones in Brown Antechinus, Antechinus stuartii

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Toftegaards, C.L., Moore, C. and Bradley, A.J. (1999) Chemical Characterization of Urinary Pheromones in Brown Antechinus, Antechinus stuartii. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 25 (3). pp. 527-535.

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1020901820044

Publisher URL: http://www.springerlink.com

Abstract

In the small dasyurid marsupial, Antechinus stuartii, males exhibit scent-marking in the form of cloacal marking of nesting areas during the breeding season. Females of this species show no such behavior. To characterize the potential male pheromonal scent signal, urine-derived volatiles from sexually active males were analyzed by GC-MS and compared to that of females and a castrated male. More than 10 urinary compounds were identified.

A series of homologous methylketones was observed in both males and females, whereas aldehydes were present only in female urine. Urine from the castrate was virtually compound-free except for minute concentrations of a compound tentatively identified as 2,4-dithiapentane. This compound was also found in one of the sexually active males. The GC profiles of the sexually active males contained high concentrations of two pyrazine derivatives and four methylketones that were not detected in the profiles of either females or the castrate. These compounds may influence social communication in the brown antechinus, Antechinus stuartii.

Item Type:Article
Corporate Creators:Horticulture and Forestry Science
Additional Information:© Springer Science+Business Media B.V
Keywords:Marsupial, pheromone, social communication, pyrazines
Subjects:Science > Biology > Biochemistry
Science > Zoology > Chordates. Vertebrates > Mammals
Live Archive:30 Jan 2006
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:47

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