Investigation of olfactory system regulating the innate behavior in the domestic cat

2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23880002
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Applied animal science
• Research Institution: Iwate University
• Principal Investigator: MIYAZAKI Masao 岩手大学, 農学部, 准教授 (20392144)
• Project Period (FY): 2011 – 2012
• Keywords: 嗅覚 / フェロモン / 本能行動 / ネコ

Research Abstract

Our main purpose of this study is to elucidate olfactory systems regulating an instinctive behaviour called the flehmen response" observed in the domestic cat. When a cat encounters urine marks deposited by other cats, the cat sniffs the urine marks with considerable interest, and then shows an instinctively fixed action pattern; the cat raises the head and holds the mouth partially open with an enraptured" expression for a few seconds. This study demonstrated that chemical properties of flehmen inducing pheromones, key steps for purification of the pheromones, and olfactory systems detecting the pheromones by both analytical and behavior approaches.

Research Products

• [Presentation] The tissue distribution of a putative pheromone precursor, felinine and its precursor, 3-methylbutanol-glutathione, in the domestic cat (2012)
  • Author(s): Hojo, W., Miyazaki, M., Nishimura, T., Nakamuta, N., Yamashita, T.
  • Organizer: The International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste (ISOT)12
  • Place of Presentation: Stockholm Waterfront (Stockholm)
  • Year and Date: 2012-06-24
• [Presentation] The chemosensory system for flehmen response in the domestic cat (2012)
  • Author(s): Miyazaki, M., Hojo, W., Nishimura, T., Miyazaki, T., Laine, R., Suzuki A., and Yamashita, T.
  • Organizer: The International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste (ISOT)12
  • Place of Presentation: Stockholm Waterfront (Stockholm)
  • Year and Date: 2012-06-24
• [Presentation] ネコの本能行動を制御する嗅覚システムの解明 (2012)
  • Author(s): 宮崎雅雄, 北條渉, 西村貴志, 山下哲郎
  • Organizer: 日本農芸学会2012年度大会
  • Place of Presentation: 京都女子大学(京都)
  • Year and Date: 2012-03-24
• [Presentation] Urinary lipids can be used as attractants of Felidae species (2011)
  • Author(s): Nishimura, T., Hojo, W., Miyazaki, T., Laine,R., Yamashita, T., and Miyazaki, M.
  • Organizer: Chemical signals in vertebrates XII
  • Place of Presentation: The Schloss Friedrichsfelde and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Berlin)
  • Year and Date: 2011-08-24
• [Presentation] Flehmen response, an instinctive behavior observed in the domestic cat (2011)
  • Author(s): Miyazaki, M., Miyazaki, T., Toyonaga, M., Tsutsui, T., Yamashita, T., Laine, R., and Suzuki, A.
  • Organizer: Chemical signals in vertebrates XII
  • Place of Presentation: The Schloss Friedrichsfelde and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Berlin)
  • Year and Date: 2011-08-24
• [Remarks]
  • URL: http://univdb.iwate-u.ac.jp/profile.php