6533b86efe1ef96bd12cc01f

RESEARCH PRODUCT

A single key-odorant accounts for the pheromonal effect of rabbit milk : Further test of the mammary pheromone's activity against a wide sample of volatiles from milk.

subject

description

In the rabbit, lactating females emit a volatile compound in milk, the mammary pheromone (MP), that triggers rooting for the nipple and its grasping in pups. Previous studies have shown that the MP seems to act selectively, in terms both of intensity and quality. Here, we aimed to add new evidence to these properties of the MP. Newborn rabbits (n=825) were submitted to an oral activation test allowing to measure their searching/grasping responses towards different stimuli. In Experiment 1 we assessed whether pups respond to the MP in an intensity-dependent manner. In Experiment 2 we assessed the activity of 20 volatiles previously identified in rabbit milk, other than the MP, which were never systematically tested for intensitydependence. The assays showed that a) neonatal responses are released by the MP only for a limited range of concentrations; b) the 20 other odorants from milk are inactive at any concentration. Thus, the MP appears to be the single volatile from rabbit milk that releases searching/grasping behaviour in pups.