Genetically based social communication in an inbred group-living wild mammal

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Odor signals are vitally important for social communication in mammals and can impact on social evolution yet the mechanisms of genetic-based social signaling are unresolved. Lab studies have demonstrated theoretical predictions that highly polymorphic genes (such as those at the Major Histocompatibility Complex, MHC) can be used for accurate discrimination of individuals. However, empirical evidence for these mechanisms from natural populations is lacking but required to prove their ecological relevance. Additionally, it is unclear how genes influence odor signals, whether directly from volatile by-products of allele molecules, or indirectly by regulating microbial odor-producing communities. We propose to leverage decades of behavioral and genetic data collected from the banded mongoose field project to disentangle the genetic basis of social odors. To our knowledge, this will be the first study to combine genomics, chemical odor profiles, microbial secretion profiles, and multiple MHC loci to comprehensively investigate the mechanisms of genetic-based social signaling in a natural population.