The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint
The evanescent and invisible communication carried by chemical signals, pheromones, or signature mixtures or, as we prefer, the pheromonal individual fingerprint, between members of the same species is poorly studied in mammals, mainly because of the lack of identification of the molecules. The diff...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/2/220 |
| _version_ | 1827629310472617984 |
|---|---|
| author | Andrea Mazzatenta Serena Fiorito Roberto Guadagnini Salvatore Genovese Alberto Valentini Federica Bonadiman Sofia Guadagnini Francesco Epifano Adriano Mollica |
| author_facet | Andrea Mazzatenta Serena Fiorito Roberto Guadagnini Salvatore Genovese Alberto Valentini Federica Bonadiman Sofia Guadagnini Francesco Epifano Adriano Mollica |
| author_sort | Andrea Mazzatenta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The evanescent and invisible communication carried by chemical signals, pheromones, or signature mixtures or, as we prefer, the pheromonal individual fingerprint, between members of the same species is poorly studied in mammals, mainly because of the lack of identification of the molecules. The difference between pheromones and the pheromonal individual fingerprint is that the former generate stereotyped innate responses while the latter requires learning, i.e., different receivers can learn different signature mixtures from the same individual. Furthermore, pheromones are usually produced by a particular gland, while the pheromonal individual fingerprint is the entire bouquet produced by the entire secreting gland of the body. In the present study, we aim to investigate the pheromonal individual fingerprint of brown bears in northern Italy. We collected the entire putative pheromone bouquet from all production sites in free-ranging bears and analyzed the entire crude extract to profile the individual fingerprint according to species-, sex- and subjective-specific characteristics. We were able to putatively characterize the brown bears’ pheromonal individual fingerprints and compare them with the partial pheromone identifications published by other studies. This work is a step forward in the study of the complexity of chemical communication, particularly in a solitary endangered species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:48:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-001ab87dbb574947890cedf8cd0991fa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:48:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-001ab87dbb574947890cedf8cd0991fa2023-11-30T20:52:53ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-01-0113222010.3390/ani13020220The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear FingerprintAndrea Mazzatenta0Serena Fiorito1Roberto Guadagnini2Salvatore Genovese3Alberto Valentini4Federica Bonadiman5Sofia Guadagnini6Francesco Epifano7Adriano Mollica8Neurophysiology Olfactory and Chemoreceptive Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ‘G. d’Annunzio’ Chieti-Pescara University, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pharmacy, ‘G. d’Annunzio’ Chieti-Pescara University, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, ItalyZoolife, Via Cavalleggeri Udine 41, 38017 Mezzolombardo, ItalyDepartment of Pharmacy, ‘G. d’Annunzio’ Chieti-Pescara University, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, ItalyZoolife, Via Cavalleggeri Udine 41, 38017 Mezzolombardo, ItalyZoolife, Via Cavalleggeri Udine 41, 38017 Mezzolombardo, ItalyZoolife, Via Cavalleggeri Udine 41, 38017 Mezzolombardo, ItalyDepartment of Pharmacy, ‘G. d’Annunzio’ Chieti-Pescara University, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pharmacy, ‘G. d’Annunzio’ Chieti-Pescara University, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, ItalyThe evanescent and invisible communication carried by chemical signals, pheromones, or signature mixtures or, as we prefer, the pheromonal individual fingerprint, between members of the same species is poorly studied in mammals, mainly because of the lack of identification of the molecules. The difference between pheromones and the pheromonal individual fingerprint is that the former generate stereotyped innate responses while the latter requires learning, i.e., different receivers can learn different signature mixtures from the same individual. Furthermore, pheromones are usually produced by a particular gland, while the pheromonal individual fingerprint is the entire bouquet produced by the entire secreting gland of the body. In the present study, we aim to investigate the pheromonal individual fingerprint of brown bears in northern Italy. We collected the entire putative pheromone bouquet from all production sites in free-ranging bears and analyzed the entire crude extract to profile the individual fingerprint according to species-, sex- and subjective-specific characteristics. We were able to putatively characterize the brown bears’ pheromonal individual fingerprints and compare them with the partial pheromone identifications published by other studies. This work is a step forward in the study of the complexity of chemical communication, particularly in a solitary endangered species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/2/220pheromonesEuropean brown bearGC/MS analysis |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Mazzatenta Serena Fiorito Roberto Guadagnini Salvatore Genovese Alberto Valentini Federica Bonadiman Sofia Guadagnini Francesco Epifano Adriano Mollica The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint Animals pheromones European brown bear GC/MS analysis |
| title | The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint |
| title_full | The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint |
| title_fullStr | The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint |
| title_short | The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint |
| title_sort | evanescent bouquet of individual bear fingerprint |
| topic | pheromones European brown bear GC/MS analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/2/220 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andreamazzatenta theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT serenafiorito theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT robertoguadagnini theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT salvatoregenovese theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT albertovalentini theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT federicabonadiman theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT sofiaguadagnini theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT francescoepifano theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT adrianomollica theevanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT andreamazzatenta evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT serenafiorito evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT robertoguadagnini evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT salvatoregenovese evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT albertovalentini evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT federicabonadiman evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT sofiaguadagnini evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT francescoepifano evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint AT adrianomollica evanescentbouquetofindividualbearfingerprint |