Mechanisms underlying the repellent effects of predator odours in rodents

啮齿类动物对猫的皮毛和皮肤气味表现出天生的恐惧。本项目旨在描述这一现象背后的机制，并确定猫毛气味在野外作为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不同种类的老鼠和家鼠的驱避效果。然后，他们计划分离、鉴定和合成猫毛中产生驱鼠作用的分子，并确定它们对啮齿动物信息素感知受体的作用。在实验室中鉴定的新型猫毛衍生分子将在现场进一步测试。预计项目成果将是一种强大的新型啮齿动物驱避剂，具有保护作物和家庭的潜力，并了解猫的气味可以驱避大鼠和小鼠的确切生理机制，可用于进一步开发新型啮齿动物驱避剂。

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.