Mechanisms underlying the repellent effects of predator odours in rodents

啮齿类动物捕食者气味驱避作用的机制

• 批准号: DP160105003
• 负责人: Prof Iain McGregor
• 金额: $ 27.37万
• 依托单位: The University of Sydney
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Projects
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2019-12-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DP160105003
• 关键词: Mechanisms; underlying; repellent; effects; predator

Rodents show innate fear towards the fur and skin odours of cats. This project seeks to describe the mechanisms behind this phenomenon and determine the potential of cat fur odours as rodent repellents in the field. The project plans to first verify the repellent effects of cat fur on various rat species and house mice in various field locations. It then plans to isolate, identify and synthesise the molecules in cat fur that cause rodent repellent effects and determine their action on rodent pheromone-sensing receptors. Novel cat fur-derived molecules identified in the laboratory will be further tested in the field. Expected project outcomes will be a powerful new rodent repellent with the potential to protect crops and homes, and an understanding of the precise physiological mechanisms whereby feline odours can repel rats and mice which could be used to further develop novel rodent repellents.

啮齿动物对猫的皮毛和皮肤气味表现出天生的恐惧。该项目旨在描述这种现象背后的机制，并确定猫毛气味作为现场啮齿动物驱避剂的潜力。该项目计划首先在不同的野外地点验证猫毛对各种大鼠和家鼠的驱避效果。然后，它计划分离、识别和合成猫毛中产生啮齿动物驱避作用的分子，并确定它们对啮齿动物信息素感应受体的作用。实验室鉴定出的新型猫毛衍生分子将在现场进行进一步测试。项目的预期成果将是一种强大的新型啮齿动物驱避剂，具有保护农作物和房屋的潜力，并且了解猫科动物气味驱除老鼠的精确生理机制，可用于进一步开发新型啮齿动物驱避剂。