Dataset Information

Developmental social environment imprints female preference for male song in mice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sexual imprinting is important for kin recognition and for promoting outbreeding, and has been a driving force for evolution; however, little is known about sexual imprinting by auditory cues in mammals. Male mice emit song-like ultrasonic vocalizations that possess strain-specific characteristics.

Objectives

In this study, we asked whether female mice imprint and prefer specific characteristics in male songs.

Methods and findings

We used the two-choice test to determine the song preference of female C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. By assessing the time engaged in searching behavior towards songs played back to females, we found that female mice displayed an innate preference for the songs of males from different strains. Moreover, this song preference was regulated by female reproductive status and by male sexual cues such as the pheromone ESP1. Finally, we revealed that this preference was reversed by cross-fostering and disappeared under fatherless conditions, indicating that the behavior was learned by exposure to the father's song.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that female mice can discriminate among male song characteristics and prefer songs of mice from strains that are different from their parents, and that these preferences are based on their early social experiences. This is the first study in mammals to demonstrate that male songs contribute to kin recognition and mate choice by females, thus helping to avoid inbreeding and to facilitate offspring heterozygosity.

SUBMITTER: Asaba A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3914833 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Developmental social environment imprints female preference for male song in mice.

Asaba Akari A Okabe Shota S Nagasawa Miho M Kato Masahiro M Koshida Nobuyoshi N Osakada Takuya T Mogi Kazutaka K Kikusui Takefumi T

PloS one 20140205 2

<h4>Background</h4>Sexual imprinting is important for kin recognition and for promoting outbreeding, and has been a driving force for evolution; however, little is known about sexual imprinting by auditory cues in mammals. Male mice emit song-like ultrasonic vocalizations that possess strain-specific characteristics.<h4>Objectives</h4>In this study, we asked whether female mice imprint and prefer specific characteristics in male songs.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>We used the two-choice test to d ...[more]

PMID: 24505280

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundIn many animal species, interactions between individuals of different sex often occur in the context of courtship and mating. During these interactions, a specific mating partner can be chosen. By discriminating potential mates according to specific characteristics, individuals can increase their evolutionary fitness in terms of reproduction and offspring survival. In this study, we monitored the partner preference behaviour of female and male wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) from populations in Germany (G) and France (F) in a controlled cage setup for 5 days and six nights. We analysed the effects of individual factors (e.g. population origin and sex) on the strength of preference (selectivity), as well as dyadic factors (e.g. neutral genetic distance and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) dissimilarity) that direct partner preferences.ResultsSelectivity was stronger in mice with a pure population background than mixed individuals. Furthermore, female mice with a father from the German population had stronger selectivity than other mice. In this group, we found a preference for partners with a larger dissimilarity of their father's and their partner's MHC, as assessed by sequencing the H2-Eß locus. In all mice, selectivity followed a clear temporal pattern: it was low in the beginning and reached its maximum only after a whole day in the experiment. After two days, mice seemed to have chosen their preferred partner, as this choice was stable for the remaining four days in the experiment.ConclusionsOur study supports earlier findings that mate choice behaviour in wild mice can be paternally influenced. In our study, preference seems to be potentially associated with paternal MHC distance. To explain this, we propose familial imprinting as the most probable process for information transfer from father to offspring during the offspring's early phase of life, which possibly influences its future partner preferences. Furthermore, our experiments show that preferences can change after the first day of encounter, which implies that extended observation times might be required to obtain results that allow a valid ecological interpretation.

Dataset Information

Developmental social environment imprints female preference for male song in mice.

Background

Objectives

Methods and findings

Conclusions

Publications

Developmental social environment imprints female preference for male song in mice.

Similar Datasets

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