Hormonal control of birth behavior in the bandicoot ( Perameles gunnii: Marsupialia) and other marsupials

Abstract

The barred bandicoot is a small marsupial, locally common on the island of Tasmania, Australia. Several marsupial species have been shown to respond to injections of prostaglandin F 2α or oxytocin by demonstrating birth behavior but that if an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis was given prior to oxytocin, no birth behavior was demonstrated. The barred bandicoot has behaved in a similar manner, demonstrating a significant increase in grooming and three other behaviors (crouching/prone, lateral and ‘birth’) were only seen after injection of PGF 2α or oxytocin. The fact that after injection of oxytocin there was an increase in the latency till a birth response confirms a previous finding in another species. Subsequently, we have repeated these experiments with other marsupial groups, with similar results, which suggest that prostaglandin F 2α stimulates birth behavior and oxytocin stimulates prostaglandin production in most marsupials.