Pairmate-dependent pup retrieval as parental behavior in male mice.

Mingkun Liang,Hong-Xiang Liu,Ryusuke Nakada,Haruhiro Higashida,Olga Lopatina,Jing Zhong,Agnes-Mikiko Yamauchi

doi:10.3389/fnins.2014.00186

Abstract

Appropriate parental care by fathers can greatly facilitate healthy human family life. However, much less is known about paternal behavior in animals compared to those regarding maternal behavior. Previously, we reported that male ICR strain laboratory mice, although not spontaneously parental, can be induced to display maternal-like parental care (pup retrieval) when separated from their pups by signals from the pairmate dam (Liu et al., 2013). This parental behavior by the ICR sires, which are not genetically biparental, is novel and has been designated as pairmate-dependent paternal behavior. However, the factors critical for this paternal behavior are unclear. Here, we report that the pairmate-dependent paternal retrieval behavior is observed especially in the ICR strain and not in C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice. An ICR sire displays retrieval behavior only toward his biological pups. A sire co-housed with an unrelated non-pairing dam in a new environment, under which 38-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations are not detected, does not show parenting behavior. It is important for sires to establish their own home territory (cage) by continuous housing and testing to display retrieval behavior. These results indicated that the ICR sires display distinct paternity, including father-child social interaction, and shed light on parental behavior, although further analyses of paternal care at the neuroendocrinological and neurocircuitry levels are required.

Highlights

According to Schor and others, “a stable, well-functioning family that consists of two parents and children is potentially the most secure, supportive, and nurturing environment in which children may be raised” (Schor and American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on the Family, 2003; Fortunato and Archetti, 2010; Benbassat and Priel, 2012)
We demonstrated that this signaling is mediated through as yet unidentified olfactory pheromonal cues and auditory 38-kHz ultrasonic vocalization (USV) cues (Liu et al, 2013), that the male response can be modified hormonally via oxytocin (Akther et al, 2013), that CD38 in the nucleus accumbens is critical (Akther et al, 2013), www.frontiersin.org
Isolation together with the partner in new cages did not potentiate but rather decreased this rate to 13.3% (n = 15). This parental behavior suggests that C57BL/6 males display mateindependent paternal behavior

Summary

Introduction

According to Schor and others, “a stable, well-functioning family that consists of two parents and children is potentially the most secure, supportive, and nurturing environment in which children may be raised” (Schor and American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on the Family, 2003; Fortunato and Archetti, 2010; Benbassat and Priel, 2012). The role of a father in the home is highly significant, and currently, the physical absence of the father in the home is seen as a major problem facing families worldwide (Feinberg, 2002; Fleming et al, 2002; Amato, 2005; Benbassat and Priel, 2012; Morrongiello et al, 2013; Bornovalova et al, 2014). This raises questions regarding which factors determine paternal care and how they are maintained. While some strains of the laboratory mouse Mus musculus become biparental (Wright and Brown, 2000; Chourbaji et al, 2011), a phenomenon called sensitization (Rosenblatt, 1967; Rosenblatt et al, 1996), little information is available regarding the factors that induce male parental behavior (Gubernick and Alberts, 1987, 1989; Lonstein and De Vries, 2000; Kentner et al, 2010; Leuner et al, 2010)

Methods

Results

Conclusion