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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Proteomic Profile of EPS-Urine through FASP Digestion and Data-Independent Analysis

Published on: May 8, 2021

Species specificity in major urinary proteins by parallel evolution.

Darren W Logan¹, Tobias F Marton, Lisa Stowers

¹Department of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America.

|September 26, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Major urinary proteins (Mups) act as species-specific pheromones. Mouse Mup gene analysis reveals evolutionary expansion and diversity, supporting their role in regulating social behaviors across mammals.

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Published on: January 26, 2024

Area of Science:

Genomics
Evolutionary Biology
Animal Behavior

Background:

Species-specific chemosignals, or pheromones, regulate diverse social behaviors in mammals.
The genetic basis and precise identity of most mammalian pheromones remain largely unknown.
Major urinary proteins (Mups) are candidate genetically-encoded pheromones due to their combinatorial expression patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

To characterize and annotate the mouse Mup gene cluster.
To analyze the coding diversity and evolutionary potential of Mup genes for pheromone function.
To investigate Mup gene family evolution across different mammalian lineages.

Main Methods:

Detailed characterization and annotation of the mouse Mup gene cluster.
Comparative genomic analysis of Mup genes across nine additional mammalian genomes.
Sequence comparison to assess coding potential of Mup genes and pseudogenes.

Main Results:

The mouse Mup gene cluster comprises an older divergent class and a second class with high sequence identity from recent duplications.
Truncated Mup pseudogenes show limited coding potential for pheromone activity.
Independent Mup gene expansions were identified in rat, horse, and grey mouse lemur lineages.

Conclusions:

The Mup gene family exhibits evolutionary complexity and recurring expansion events across mammals.
This genomic complexity generates coding diversity, consistent with a species-specific pheromonal function.
Mups represent a key system for understanding the evolution of social behavior regulation through chemical communication.