Biology of Reproduction, Vol 13, 94-98, Copyright © 1975 by Society for the Study of Reproduction

Male-Induced Puberty in Female Mice: Evidence for a Synergistic Action of Social Cues

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712

It has been established previously that cohabitation with an adult male induces precocial puberty in female mice and, furthermore, that a factor in the male’s urine is only in part responsible for this phenomenon. The present four sets of experiments had as their objective a more precise determination of the male’s relevant cues. Exposure of immature females of a particular body weight to intact male urine for 54 h yielded a small but consistent level of uterine growth. Cohabitation with a castrated male for the same length of time resulted in no uterine growth. Simultaneous exposure to intact male urine and the presence of a castrated male, on the other hand, yielded uterine growth of a magnitude similar to that obtained by cohabitation with an intact male. Further experiments using wire mesh barriers, opaquing the eyes and/or occluding the ear canals verified that the second type of cue was tactile and, by extension, that castrated males showed the necessary tactile responses. Thus the relevant cues of the male are pheromonal and tactile and these cues act synergistically to induce precocial puberty in young females.