Skip to main content

Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Leclaire, S; Jacob, S; Greene, LK; Dubay, GR; Drea, CM
Published in: Scientific reports
June 2017

The fermentation hypothesis for animal signalling posits that bacteria dwelling in an animal's scent glands metabolize the glands' primary products into odorous compounds used by the host to communicate with conspecifics. There is, however, little evidence of the predicted covariation between an animal's olfactory cues and its glandular bacterial communities. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we first identified the volatile compounds present in 'pure' versus 'mixed' anal-gland secretions ('paste') of adult meerkats (Suricata suricatta) living in the wild. Low-molecular-weight chemicals that likely derive from bacterial metabolism were more prominent in mixed than pure secretions. Focusing thereafter on mixed secretions, we showed that chemical composition varied by sex and was more similar between members of the same group than between members of different groups. Subsequently, using next-generation sequencing, we identified the bacterial assemblages present in meerkat paste and documented relationships between these assemblages and the host's sex, social status and group membership. Lastly, we found significant covariation between the volatile compounds and bacterial assemblages in meerkat paste, particularly in males. Together, these results are consistent with a role for bacteria in the production of sex- and group-specific scents, and with the evolution of mutualism between meerkats and their glandular microbiota.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Scientific reports

DOI

EISSN

2045-2322

ISSN

2045-2322

Publication Date

June 2017

Volume

7

Issue

1

Start / End Page

3240

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Behavior
  • Scent Glands
  • Odorants
  • Microbiota
  • Male
  • Herpestidae
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Female
  • Bodily Secretions
  • Bacteria
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Leclaire, S., Jacob, S., Greene, L. K., Dubay, G. R., & Drea, C. M. (2017). Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 3240. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03356-x
Leclaire, Sarah, Staffan Jacob, Lydia K. Greene, George R. Dubay, and Christine M. Drea. “Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats.Scientific Reports 7, no. 1 (June 2017): 3240. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03356-x.
Leclaire S, Jacob S, Greene LK, Dubay GR, Drea CM. Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats. Scientific reports. 2017 Jun;7(1):3240.
Leclaire, Sarah, et al. “Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats.Scientific Reports, vol. 7, no. 1, June 2017, p. 3240. Epmc, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-03356-x.
Leclaire S, Jacob S, Greene LK, Dubay GR, Drea CM. Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats. Scientific reports. 2017 Jun;7(1):3240.

Published In

Scientific reports

DOI

EISSN

2045-2322

ISSN

2045-2322

Publication Date

June 2017

Volume

7

Issue

1

Start / End Page

3240

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Behavior
  • Scent Glands
  • Odorants
  • Microbiota
  • Male
  • Herpestidae
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Female
  • Bodily Secretions
  • Bacteria