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Animals
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Chemical Senses in Vertebrates
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Chemical Senses in Vertebrates

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (24 August 2024) | Viewed by 6397

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Pablo Sánchez Quinteiro

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Guest Editor
Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Av. Carballo Calero s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Interests: animal anatomy; neuroscience; histology; immunohistochemistry; olfactory system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chemical senses are among the first to have evolved, and virtually all forms of cellular life, from bacteria to animals, are responsive to chemical information. In contrast to the signals perceived by the other senses, semiochemicals give us the opportunity to dissect animal communication at all levels, from behaviour and physiology to the genetics of signal production and perception. However, we are still far from settling questions such as the morphological and functional diversity of olfaction, pheromonal signalling and taste.

Knowledge of olfaction underwent a major breakthrough with the award of the Nobel Prize in 2004 to Richard Axel and Linda Buck. The last 15 years has seen an exponential progression in the number of studies on the olfactory and vomeronasal systems, which have forced the reformulation of prevailing ideas and hypotheses on olfactory signal processing and vomeronasal-mediated chemocommunication. More recently, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the cardinal symptoms of which is a loss of the sense of smell, elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms of coronavirus-induced anosmia may be critical to understanding the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2.

Taste information is elicited by taste buds in the oral cavity, projected to the central nervous system, and subsequently processed to provide input signals for food recognition, the regulation of metabolism and physiology, and higher-order brain functions such as learning and memory, emotion, and reward. An understanding of the gustatory system is fundamental to the development of technologies that regulate the endocrine system and enhance whole-body metabolism.

With this Special Issue, we aim to cover the latest research in chemical communication that addresses a wide range of topics, from neuroanatomy and physiology to molecular and genomic sciences. The range of taxonomic groups to be covered will include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. We therefore invite experts in the field to participate in this Special Issue with original and review papers.

Prof. Dr. Pablo Sánchez Quinteiro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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13 pages, 7480 KiB  
Article
Dissecting the Effects of Cephenemyia stimulator on the Olfactory Turbinates and Nasopharynx of Roe Deers (Capreolus capreolus)
by Irene Ortiz-Leal, Mateo V. Torres, Ana López-Beceiro, Pablo Sanchez-Quinteiro and Luis Fidalgo
Animals 2024, 14(9), 1297; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14091297 - 25 Apr 2024
Viewed by 833
Abstract
Nasopharyngeal myiasis in European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is a pathological condition caused by the larval stages of Cephenemyia stimulator, a fly from the Oestridae family. These larvae reside in the host’s upper respiratory tract for months, inducing significant tissue damage and [...] Read more.
Nasopharyngeal myiasis in European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is a pathological condition caused by the larval stages of Cephenemyia stimulator, a fly from the Oestridae family. These larvae reside in the host’s upper respiratory tract for months, inducing significant tissue damage and clinical symptoms. The lifecycle of Cephenemyia stimulator is complex, involving three larval stages before maturation into adult flies, with each stage contributing to the progressive pathology observed in the host. Despite their prevalence, the histopathological effects of these larvae in the nasal and nasopharyngeal cavities have been understudied. Our study fills this knowledge gap by providing a detailed histopathological analysis of the affected tissues, using various staining techniques to reveal the extent and nature of the damage caused by these parasitic larvae. This histopathological examination reveals significant alterations within the nasopharyngeal mucosa and nasal cavity, including erythematous changes, mucosal metaplasia, fibrosis, and tissue necrosis. Parasitic cysts and eosinophilic infiltration further characterize the impact of the infestation, compromising not only the mucosal integrity but also potentially the olfactory function of the affected animals. This research is crucial for understanding the impact of myiasis on both the health and olfactory capabilities of roe deer populations and could have significant implications for wildlife management and conservation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Senses in Vertebrates)
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14 pages, 1603 KiB  
Article
The Effect of a Synthetic Scent on Cheetah Behaviour
by Alexia Tommasi, Andreas G. J. Tredoux, Jacek A. Koziel and Giulia Esposito
Animals 2023, 13(3), 369; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030369 - 21 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2484
Abstract
In cheetahs, age at first parturition correlates negatively with reproductive lifespan (asymmetric reproductive aging); therefore, breeding cheetahs at a young age is essential to maximize reproductive performance in this species. However, younger females display a significantly reduced frequency of copulatory behaviour, which negatively [...] Read more.
In cheetahs, age at first parturition correlates negatively with reproductive lifespan (asymmetric reproductive aging); therefore, breeding cheetahs at a young age is essential to maximize reproductive performance in this species. However, younger females display a significantly reduced frequency of copulatory behaviour, which negatively affects breeding. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are known to regulate appropriate behavioural responses in various species, including reproductive behaviour; moreover, they have proven to play a role in captive breeding methods in cheetahs, as well as mate choice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a synthetic scent (SS) on the frequency of the five oestrous behaviour(s) (sniff, rub, roll, spray, and meow-chirp) known to be indicative of oestrus in female cheetahs. Based on the results of a previous study from our research group, five VOCs, identified in the marking fluid of male cheetahs, and known to be pheromones involved in reproductive behaviour, were used to create the SS. This was accomplished by mixing benzaldehyde, acetophenone, indole, dimethyl disulphide and phenol with (99.9%) ethanol. Seven female cheetahs were then observed for one oestrus cycle without stimulation (control) and then once again while exposed to the SS (treatment), which was sprayed on foil trays placed around the outside of each enclosure. The occurrence of the five oestrous behaviours was recorded and tallied per day of observations. Although the SS did not have a significant effect on the frequency of oestrous behaviours displayed by the females used in this study, five of the seven (71%) did show an increase in their behaviour with the SS when oestrogen concentrations were at their highest (peak oestrus), including three of the four younger females. The SS also significantly increased the sniffing behaviour in general. Although the results of this study do indicate that VOCs influence cheetahs and their behaviour, firm conclusions cannot be drawn due to the low number of animals used, as well as the significant effect the observation methods had on the results. Nonetheless, this study represents the first of this kind in cheetahs, therefore representing an important step in determining the role of VOCs in aiding breeding in captivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Senses in Vertebrates)
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12 pages, 1452 KiB  
Article
Chemical Characterization of the Marking Fluid of Breeding and Non-Breeding Male Cheetahs
by Alexia Tommasi, Andreas G. J. Tredoux, Jacek A. Koziel and Giulia Esposito
Animals 2022, 12(17), 2284; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12172284 - 3 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2201
Abstract
Scent is known to play an important role in the reproduction of cheetahs and other felids. In fact, the presence/odor of a male cheetah has been noted to trigger the estrous cycle in females. The objective of this study was to analyze the [...] Read more.
Scent is known to play an important role in the reproduction of cheetahs and other felids. In fact, the presence/odor of a male cheetah has been noted to trigger the estrous cycle in females. The objective of this study was to analyze the marking fluid (MF) of male cheetahs from different breeding groups to determine the composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present, with the aim of identifying potential pheromones relating to sexual behavior/attraction in this species. Four breeding (B; age: 8.9 ± 1.3 years old) and four non-breeding (NB; age: 5.5 ± 0.8 years old) males were selected for this study. Samples were collected into a glass beaker, transferred immediately into a 20 mL glass screw-cap vial with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coated silicone septum, and stored until analyzed by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A contingency test with Fisher’s exact test, using the frequency (FREQ) procedure of SAS 9.4, was conducted to determine the difference between the number of VOCs identified per breeding group; furthermore, differences in relative concentration (RC) of the identified VOCs between breeding groups were analyzed using ANOVA for repeated measures with the GLIMMIX procedure. From the 13 MF samples analyzed, 53 VOCs were identified, and 12 were identified in all the samples. Five of these (dimethyl disulfide, benzaldehyde, acetophenone, phenol, and indole) are known to be involved in attraction/sexual behavior in mammals. Between the two groups, the RC of indole was significantly higher in the NB group, whereas the RC of dodecanoic acid was significantly higher in the B group. Although not significant, the RC of benzaldehyde was higher in the B versus the NB group. The results of this study do support the hypothesis of differences in VOCs’ between B and NB male cheetahs. However, the overlapping of age and breeding status and the diet differences could not be controlled. Still, the evidence of changes in MF composition in male cheetahs necessitates further studies on possible strategies to improve reproduction in captivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Senses in Vertebrates)
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