Male behavior by knockout.
A recent paper published by Kimchi, Xu, and Dulac in Nature describes the emergence of male-type sexual behavior in female mice following incapacitation of the accessory olfactory system. The authors argue that this implies a default male-type behavioral pattern that is otherwise constantly inhibited in the female brain by chemical signals transduced in the accessory olfactory system. In addition to reviewing these findings, we suggest in this Preview how these findings in the mouse could have relevance for human behavior.
Spors
Hartwig
H
WIN Group of Olfactory Dynamics, Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften and Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung, Jahnstrasse 29, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Sobel
Noam
N
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout / Q000502:physiology*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000502:physiology*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels / Q000235:genetics; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000502:physiology*