MECHANISMS MEDIATING THE OPERATION OF PUBERTY-INFLUENCING CHEMOSIGNALS IN WILD MICE, MUS-MUSCULUS-DOMESTICUS

Acceleration of puberty in juvenile females ceased to occur when they were denied direct contact with adult males. On the other hand, the delay in pubertal onset in juveniles in the presence of adult stimulus females persisted in the absence of physical contact. These results suggest that the male urinary chemosignal is nonvolatile and acts through contact. In contrast, the female factor, seems to be a volatile chemosignal that does not require contact for operation.