Dataset Information

A non-Âinvasive method for sampling the body odour of mammals

ABSTRACT:

Olfaction is a central aspect of mammalian communication, providing information about individual attributes such as identity, sex, group membership or genetic quality. Yet, the chemical underpinnings of olfactory cues remain little understood, one of the reasons being the difficulty in obtaining high quality samples for chemical analysis. In this study, we adjusted and evaluated the use of thermal desorption (TD) tubes, commonly used in plant metabolomic and environmental studies, for non-invasive sampling of mammalian body odour. We obtained chemical profiles of meerkat (Suricata suricatta) body odour samples, using TD tubes analysed with gas chromatographyâmass spectrometry. TD tubes captured a wide range of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, including compounds likely originating from the target animals. Adjustment of sampling parameters (distance, volume, flow rate, interruption of sampling) to increase the feasibility for a non-invasive application yielded samples of adequate quality. However, to minimize the variability between samples, sampling parameters should be kept constant and samples should be collected when no conspecifics are close-by. The method was sensitive enough to pick up population differences in the chemical profiles of two captive groups of meerkats, demonstrating its applicability to biological questions. With sufficiently habituated animals, the method is applicable non-invasively, allowing short- and long-term studies on a wide range of questions, including e.g. chemical signatures of kinship, diet, individual health or reproductive state.

INSTRUMENT(S): Tandem Gas Chromatography MS - positive

SUBMITTER: Steffen Neumann

PROVIDER: MTBLS557 | MetaboLights | 2022-01-14

REPOSITORIES: MetaboLights

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Two-stage two-phase biogas reactor systems consisting each of one batch downflow hydrolysis reactor (HR, vol. 10 L), one process fluid storage tank (vol. 10 L), and one downstream upflow anaerobic filter reactor (AF, vol. 10 L), were operated at mesophilic (M, 37 °C) and thermophilic (T, 55 °C) temperatures and over a period of > 750 d (Figure 1, Additional file 1). For each reactor system and for each process temperature, two replicates were conducted in parallel, denominated further as biological replicates. Further process details were as previously published. Start-up of all fermenters were performed using liquid fermenter material from a biogas plant converting cattle manure in co-digestion with grass and maize silage and other biomass at varying concentrations and at mesophilic temperatures. Silage of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was digested as sole substrate in batches of varying amounts with retention times of 28 d (storage of bale silage at -20 °C, cutting length 3 cm, volatile substances (VS) 32 % of fresh mass (FM), total Kjeldahl nitrogen 7.6 g kgFM-1, NH4+-N 0.7 g kgFM-1, acetic acid 2.6 g kgFM-1, propionic acid < 0.04 g kgFM-1, lactic acid 2.6 g kgFM-1, ethanol 2.2 g kgFM-1, C/N ratio 19.3, chemical oxygen demand (COD) 357.7 g kgFM-1, analysis of chemical properties according to [6]. No spoilage was observed in the silage. Biogas yields were calculated as liters normalized to 0 °C and 1013 hPa (LN) per kilogram volatile substances (kgVS). For chemical analysis, samples were taken from the effluents of HR and AF. For sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicon libraries, microbial metagenomes, and microbial metatranscriptomes, samples were taken from the silage digestate in the HR digested for 2 d. At this time point, high AD rates were detected as indicated by the fast increase of volatile fatty acids (VFA), e.g., acetic acid. Sampling was performed at two different organic loading rates (OLR), i.e., batch-fermentation of 500 g (denominated as “low OLR”, samples MOLR500 and TOLR500) and 1,500 g silage (denominated as “increased OLR”, samples MOLR1500 and TOLR1500).

Dataset Information

A non-Âinvasive method for sampling the body odour of mammals

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure