Domestic boar

It was most timely that the only known mammalian semiochemicals which fit nicely into the concept of insect pheromones - two steroids present in the saliva of the domestic boar (5a-androst-16-en-3-one and 3a-hydroxy-5a-androst-16-ene) - were isolated by Patterson (1969), just at the time when interest in olfactory communication was rising. 

Giintherschulze, J. (1979) Studies about Regio olfactoria of wild boar (Sus scrofa) and the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica). Zool. Anz. Jena 202, 256-279. 

Domestication can change the olfactory system. In the domestic pig, most olfactory structures in the forebrain are 30% smaller than in wild boar (Kruska and Rohrs, 1974). 

Dorries, K. M., Adkins-Regan, E., and Halpern, B. P. (1991). Sex difference in olfactory sensitivity to the boar chemosignal, androstenone, in the domestic pig. AnimalBehaviour 42,403-411. 

Another reason for the relative lack of interest in mammalian pheromones lies in the fact that - apart from the use in perfumes - only one actual application of mammalian pheromones is known so far. This is not in connection with a pest but with a very useful animal, the domestic pig (5). The saliva and sweat glands of the sexually aroused boar contain two steroids with a musky smell, A16 androstenol and A16-androstenone. These are actual pheromones emitted by the male and eliciting a characteristic behaviour in the female. Sows in heat react to the scent of these compounds by assuming a characteristic copulating stance. 

The domestic pig or boar Sus scrofa) is derived from the wild boar of Eurasia. The pig is an ancient do-... 

Bll. Bell, D. J., and Lake, P. E., A comparison of phosphomonesterase activities in the seminal plasmas of domestic cock, turkey tom, boar, bull, buck rabbit, and of man. J. Reprod. Pert. 3, 363-368 (1962). 

Fig. 2. DNA profiles in eight domestic pigs (1-8) and two wild boars (9 and 10) using digoxigenin labeling and color detection of a porcine minisatellite isolated from a genomic pig library, a to d indicate the alleles detected at this locus. Each lane contains approx 2 pg of digested DNA.

Kim TS, Lee SH, Gang GT et al (2010) Exogenous DNA uptake of boar spermatozoa by a magnetic nanoparticle vector system. Reprod Domest Anim 45 e201-e206... 

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