Proteins from femoral gland secretions of male rock lizards Iberolacerta cyreni allow self—but not individual—recognition of unfamiliar males
| Autor: | Claudio Reyes-Olivares, Gonzalo Rodríguez-Ruiz, Roberto Sacchi, Marco Mangiacotti, Pilar López, Alan Jioele Coladonato, Marco A. L. Zuffi, José Martín, Stefano Scali |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Tongue-flicking Chemical communication 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Intraspecific competition Femoral glands biology.animal 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Secretion 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology Set (psychology) Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Lizards.Proteins biology Lizard Individual recognition 05 social sciences biology.organism_classification Iberolacerta cyreni Evolutionary biology Animal ecology Animal Science and Zoology Identification (biology) |
| Zdroj: | Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC instname |
| Popis: | Individual recognition (IR) plays an important role in modulating social interactions of several animal species. IR may work at two fundamental levels: at class-level (CIR), if it allows group membership identification (e.g. familiar/unfamiliar), or at individual-level (true IR; TIR), if it allows uniquely recognizing conspecifics. Direct and indirect evidences suggest that many lizards are able to recognize conspecifics, notably using the secretions from femoral glands, specialized epidermal structures located in the cloacal region. Such secretions are made of a mix of lipids and proteins, the latter having been poorly studied but hypothesised to convey identity-related information. Using male Iberian Rock lizards, we set up bioassays to test the role of the protein fraction in IR, and specifically whether lizards: (1) can detect proteins from femoral glands, (2) can recognize their own proteins from those of an unfamiliar male (CIR) and (3) can distinguish between two unfamiliar protein signals (TIR). We found that femoral proteins can be actually detected, and the protein signal was enough to allow self-recognition, but not to distinguish between two unfamiliar males. These outcomes support the hypothesis that proteins from lizard femoral glands are used in intraspecific communication, at least at CIR level. The lack of TIR detection has three possible explanations: (1) finer IR abilities are actually absent in this species; (2) TIR requires a more complex and complete chemical signal or (3) a more prolonged and complete set of previous interactions among individuals is needed to lead to familiarity and TIR. Significant statement: The ability to individually distinguish conspecifics is at the basis of many social behaviours. While the sensorial channel through which individual recognition is achieved may vary, the structure of the signal is usually complex and it could be expected different components to play different roles, so which part of the signal is actually responsible for individual recognition? Lizards use the secretion of specialized epidermal glands for intraspecific chemical communication, including individual recognition. Being a mixture of lipids and proteins, we wondered if it was the protein fraction of the secretion (i.e. the heritable part) which conveys identity. Using male Iberian Rock lizards, we showed that proteins allow for self but not for true individual recognition, suggesting that a partial signature may be not enough. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad project MINECO CGL2014-53523-P. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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