Fluorescently labeled vomeronasal neurons recorded from adult male mice exposed to ESP22MARC SPEHR, RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITYThe tears of two- to three-week-old mice contain a pheromone that deters adult males from sexual contact, according to a study published today (October 2) in Nature. In young mice lacking exocrine-gland secreting peptide 22 (ESP22), males made unwanted sexual advances, but painting the compound on the fur of juveniles inhibited this behavior.
“In the past, people actually thought that the lack of [sexual] reaction to young was due to the lack of pheromones. No pheromones, no behavioral responses—that was the common thinking,” said neuroscientist Roberto Tirindelli of the University of Parma in Italy, who did not participate in the study. “Now, for the first time, they show that there is a specific pheromone which is actually active, preventing sexual contact. The inhibition of sexual contact is due to the presence of this pheromone and not to the absence of other pheromones.”
In the last several years, researchers have begun to identify more and more putative pheromones in mice. Specifically, three large gene families, including ESPs, have been recognized to activate the vomeronasal organ (VNO), an olfactory structure ...
