title: Steroid-independent male sexual behavior in B6D2F2 male mice.
abstract: It is well established that male sexual behavior (MSB) is regulated by gonadal steroids; however, individual differences in MSB, independent of gonadal steroids, are prevalent across a wide range of species, and further investigation is necessary to advance our understanding of steroid-independent MSB. Studies utilizing B6D2F1 hybrid male mice in which a significant proportion retain MSB after long-term orchidectomy, identified as steroid-independent-maters (SI-maters), have begun to unravel the genetic underpinnings of steroid-independent MSB. A recent study demonstrated that steroid-independent MSB is a heritable behavioral phenotype that is mainly passed down from B6D2F1 hybrid SI-maters when crossed with C57BL6J female mice. To begin to uncover whether the strain of the dam plays a role in the inheritance of steroid-independent MSB, B6D2F1 hybrid females were crossed with B6D2F1 hybrid males. While the present study confirms the finding that steroid-independent MSB is a heritable behavioral phenotype and that SI-mater sires are more likely to pass down some components of MSB than SI-non-maters to their offspring, it also reveals that the B6D2F2 male offspring that were identified as SI-maters that displayed the full repertoire of steroid-independent MSB had the same probability of being sired from either a B6D2F1 SI-mater or SI-non-mater. These results, in conjunction with previous findings, indicate that the specific chromosomal loci pattern that codes for steroid-independent MSB in the B6D2F2 male offspring may result regardless of whether the father was a SI-mater or SI-non-mater, and that the maternal strain may be an important factor in the inheritance of steroid-independent MSB.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Boston, MA 02125, United States. Electronic address: cmcinnis1@partners.org.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McInnis
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Boston, MA 02125, United States.
authors.forename: Samitha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Venu
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Boston, MA 02125, United States.
authors.forename: Jin Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002678:Chimera / Q000502:physiology*; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000502:physiology*; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009919:Orchiectomy; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones
keywords: B6D2F1 mouse; B6D2F2 mouse; Behavioral genetics; Steroid-independent male sexual behavior