Article
Communal nesting patterns in mice implicate MHC genes in kin recognition.
Nature - 10 Dec 1992
Manning C J, Wakeland E K, Potts W K
Abstract excerpt
House mice (Mus musculus domesticus) form communal nests and appear to nurse each other's pups indiscriminately. Communal nesting probably functions to reduce infanticide, but it also makes females vulnerable to exploitation if nursing partners fail to provide their fair share of care. Kinship theory predicts that females will preferentially form communal nests with relatives to minimize exploitation and further...
Topics
- Animals
- Behavior, Animal
- Discrimination, Psychological
- Female
- Genotype
- Major Histocompatibility Complex
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Inbred DBA
- Nesting Behavior
- Odorants