MSGID: 1:317/3 64927d0d   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    When a rat smells a rat    
    Pheromone found to put scared rats at ease could lead to humane pest   
   control    
      
     Date:   
         June 20, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Tokyo   
     Summary:   
         Some animals release chemical pheromones which can trigger   
         behavioral or hormonal changes in other animals. It is known   
         that calm rats can reduce the fear of nearby rats, but the exact   
         mechanism was unknown. Researchers have found the pheromone   
         responsible and demonstrated its effect both on lab rats and rats   
         in the human environment. Their findings could lead to a new kind   
         of humane pest control.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Some animals release chemical pheromones which can trigger behavioral or   
   hormonal changes in other animals. It is known that calm rats can reduce   
   the fear of nearby rats, but the exact mechanism was unknown. Researchers,   
   including those from the University of Tokyo, have found the pheromone   
   responsible and demonstrated its effect both on lab rats and rats in   
   the human environment. Their findings could lead to a new kind of humane   
   pest control.   
      
   Associate Professor Yasushi Kiyokawa from the University of Tokyo's   
   Laboratory of Veterinary Ethology and his colleagues are big fans of   
   rats. They find them fascinating to study, partly due to their relatively   
   high intelligence which, in some ways, even allows them to stand in for   
   humans in certain studies on social interactions.   
      
   "I believe that by studying the social lives of rats, we might actually   
   uncover something about human social interactions as well," said   
   Kiyokawa. "That is one of the motivations behind our latest research   
   topic, which explores in more details than ever before, an observed   
   phenomenon where rats can affect the emotional state of others around   
   them."  It has been known for some time that, within the same species,   
   rats which are in a relaxed state can imbue a similar state in nearby   
   rats. Essentially, they can calm each other down without any direct   
   interaction. This is due to pheromones, biological compounds in the air,   
   released from the relaxed rat and received by the scared rat, altering   
   their state. But the nature of the pheromones involved was unknown   
   until now.   
      
   "To isolate the pheromones involved in this intra-species calming   
   phenomenon, we needed to be careful about how we tried to collect them,"   
   said Kiyokawa. "If we stressed out the rat too much, it would likely   
   affect what pheromones it released. So, we had to be creative and come   
   up with a way to collect pheromones from a relaxed rat. We did this   
   by putting a calm rat to sleep and used water to absorb pheromones from   
   its neck."  The main pheromone the team found released by relaxed rats was   
   2-methylbutyric acid (2-MB), which is incidentally found in the aromas of   
   cheese and wine. They first determined this was what they were seeking by   
   making sure it did indeed reduce the fear in other lab rats. Then they   
   laced one of two identical small chambers with 2-MB to see if the rats   
   would show any preference toward either, which they did. This directly   
   showed that rats felt comfortable to sniff the pheromone. Given the   
   striking effect it seemed to have, the team also wanted to see if it   
   would work on wild rats in urban environments.   
      
   "We tested at two different locations to see if wild rats would   
   respond to 2- MB," said Kiyokawa. "They responded similarly to   
   our lab rats. Synthetic 2-MB reduced their fear of novel things, or   
   neophobia. This is important because it's neophobia in urban rats that   
   makes producing effective traps so difficult."  Based on their results,   
   the team believe that 2-MB could be used to create a form of humane pest   
   control. It could be used to lure urban rats into nonlethal traps and   
   also keep them calm while they're being transported out of the urban   
   environment.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Animals # Mammals # Rodents # New_Species #   
                   Invasive_Species # Wild_Animals # Nature #   
                   Behavioral_Science   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Brown_Rat o Pest_(animal) o Pheromone o Tuatara o Mouse o   
             Animal_rights o Calorie_restricted_diet o Lemming   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Tokyo. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Yasushi Kiyokawa, Shigeyuki Tamogami, Masato Ootaki, Evelyn Kahl,   
      Dana   
         Mayer, Markus Fendt, Satoru Nagaoka, Tsutomu Tanikawa, Yukari   
         Takeuchi.   
      
         An appeasing pheromone ameliorates fear responses in the brown   
         rat (Rattus norvegicus). iScience, 2023; 107081 DOI: 10.1016/   
         j.isci.2023.107081   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230620113813.htm   
      
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