Olfactory sensitivity for mold-associated odorants in CD-1 mice and spider monkeys

Using operant conditioning procedures, we assessed the olfactory sensitivity of six CD-1 mice and three spider monkeys for mold-associated odorants. We found that with all eight stimuli, the mice detected concentrations as low as 0.1 ppm (parts per million), and with two of them individual animals even detected concentrations as low as 1 ppt (parts per trillion). The spider monkeys detected concentrations as low as 4 ppm with all eight stimuli, and with four of them individual animals even detected concentrations as low as 4 ppb (parts per billion). Between-species comparisons showed that with all eight odorants, the mice displayed significantly lower threshold values, that is, a higher sensitivity than the spider monkeys, but not than human subjects tested in previous studies. Analysis of odor structure-activity relationships showed that in both species, the type of oxygen-containing functional group and the presence versus absence of a double bond as well as the length of the carbon backbone of the odor stimuli had a systematic effect on detectability. We conclude that both mice and spider monkeys are clearly able to detect the presence of molds and thus to assess the palatability of potential food using the volatiles produced by molds during putrefaction.