The scent of wolves: pyrazine analogs induce avoidance and vigilance behaviors in prey.

Kazumi Osada,Sadaharu Miyazono,Makoto Kashiwayanagi

doi:10.3389/fnins.2015.00363

Kazumi Osada, Sadaharu Miyazono + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2015.00363

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Abstract

The common gray wolf (Canis lupus) is an apex predator located at the top of the food chain in the Northern Hemisphere. It preys on rodents, rabbits, ungulates, and many other kinds of mammal. However, the behavioral evidence for, and the chemical basis of, the fear-inducing impact of wolf urine on prey are unclear. Recently, the pyrazine analogs 2, 6-dimethylpyrazine, 2, 3, 5-trimethylpyrazine and 3-ethyl-2, 5-dimethyl pyrazine were identified as kairomones in the urine of wolves. When mice were confronted with a mixture of purified pyrazine analogs, vigilance behaviors, including freezing and excitation of neurons at the accessory olfactory bulb, were markedly increased. Additionally, the odor of the pyrazine cocktail effectively suppressed the approach of deer to a feeding area, and for those close to the feeding area elicited fear-related behaviors such as the “tail-flag,” “flight,” and “jump” actions. In this review, we discuss the transfer of chemical information from wolf to prey through the novel kairomones identified in wolf urine and also compare the characteristics of wolf kairomones with other predator-produced kairomones that affect rodents.

Highlights

The common gray wolf (Canis lupus) is an apex predator at the top of the food chain in the Northern Hemisphere
Osada et al (2013) found that one group of urine samples, those harvested in March, induced the strongest vigilance behavior in mice (Figures 1A,B); these results indicate that the levels of kairomones in wolf urine might increase near the end of the breeding season
Urinary chemical communication between conspecifics in wolf packs is important in wild habitats

Summary

Introduction

The common gray wolf (Canis lupus) is an apex predator at the top of the food chain in the Northern Hemisphere It preys on rodents, rabbits, ungulates, and many other kinds of mammal. For prey animals that rely on chemical communication to regulate social and sexual interactions, it is possible that the presence of a predator can be detected by its scent. These scents and some nonvolatile molecules that affect the vomeronasal organ (VNO) (Hurst et al, 2001; Kimoto et al, 2005; Papes et al, 2010; Kaur et al, 2014) are defined as semiochemicals.

Alkylpyrazine analogs

The Study of Chemical Communication via Wolf Urine

Identification of Wolf Kairomones by Mice

The Effect of Putative Kairomones in Wolf Urine on Ungulates

Conclusions