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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-5-18
pubmed:abstractText
The possible role of uropygial gland-secreted compounds in olfactory discrimination of sex or sex attractants in the budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus, was investigated using behavioral 2-choice tests and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Our data showed that female budgerigars were capable of distinguishing males from females in a Y maze via body odor, indicating its sexual dimorphism. When we conducted a chemical assay of the uropygial preen gland secretions, we found 4 times more volatile octadecanol, nonadecanol, and eicosanol in ratios in males than in females, making them putative male pheromone candidates. Female birds also showed overt preferences for the odor of male preen gland secretions or the 3-alkanol blend equivalent preened onto the plumage of a male over that of female counterparts. Removal of any one alkanol was associated with a loss of attractiveness to the female. In another test device (a test cage) with visible male bird stimulus, females chose the male with the 3-alkanol blend of males over the other male with female preen gland secretion, whereas did not differentiate their responses between the males with either this blend or male preen gland secretions. The behavioral data robustly suggested that the 3 alkanols synergistically created a female attractant odor or male pheromone in the budgerigar and that bird uropygial glands have broader implications in sexual behavior than previously known. This is the first investigation with bioassay of components of the gland in a bird species.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1464-3553
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
35
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
375-82
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-12-30
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Uropygial gland-secreted alkanols contribute to olfactory sex signals in budgerigars.
pubmed:affiliation
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beichenxi Road 1-5, Beijing 100101, China. zhangjx@ioz.ac.cn
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't