Male-induced puberty acceleration in young female wild mice: hormonal regulation and source of pheromonal cue

Experiments were designed to examine the influence of adult males on the rate of sexual maturation in young female wild mice. In one experiment, young females were raised in presence of adult males, adult females and in absence of any individual, while in another, they were exposed to urines of: (1) castrated males, (2) spayed females, (3) castrated and TP-treated males, (4) castrated and placebo-injected males. Female maturation as measured by age at vaginal opening and first vaginal oestrus was accelerated by presence of adult males, whereas presence of adult females considerably delayed the vaginal opening and the appearance of first oestrus in young females. In the other set of the experiments, urine from castrated or castrated and placebo-injected males was ineffective in inducing early puberty while urine from spayed females highly delayed the sexual maturation. By contrast, urine from castrated and TP-treated males accelerated the puberty more or less like normal males. The results indicate that male's chemosignal accelerating puberty in young females is present in urine and its production is under the control of androgens. However, the female-originating urinary pheromone which delays the puberty in young females is not regulated by ovarian hormones.