Unraveling female communication through scent marks in the Norway rat.

Chemical communication by females remains poorly understood, with most attention focused on female advertisement of sexual receptivity to males or mother-offspring communication. However, in social species, scents are likely to be important for mediating competition and cooperation between females determining individual reproductive success. Here, we explore chemical signaling by female laboratory rats () to test i) whether females target their deployment of scent information differentially according to their sexual receptivity and the genetic identity of both female and male conspecifics signaling in the local environment and ii) whether females are attracted to gain the same or different information from female scents compared to males.

Molecular complexity of the major urinary protein system of the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus.

Major urinary proteins (MUP) are the major component of the urinary protein fraction in house mice (Mus spp.) and rats (Rattus spp.).