Advances in Zoology and Botany Vol. 4(3), pp. 37 - 45
DOI: 10.13189/azb.2016.040302
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Identification of GABA_β Receptor Protein and Farnesol in the Preputial Gland of Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota indica)

Ponnirul Ponmanickam ^1,2, Samuthirapandi Muniasamy ^1,3, Thangavel Rajagopal ^1,4, Rengasamy Lakshminarayanan Rengarajan ¹, Govindaraju Archunan ^1,*
1 Center for Pheromone Technology, Department of Animal Science, Bharathidasan University, India
² Department of Zoology, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College (Autonomous), India
³ Department of Microbiology, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College (Autonomous), India
⁴ Department of Zoology, Thiyagarajar Arts and Science College, India

ABSTRACT

Preputial gland is one of the prime sources of pheromones in rats. The study on pheromone identification in preputial gland is well established in laboratory rat, house rat and voles. But the study was lacking in the preputial gland of bandicoot rats. Hence, the present investigation was aimed to identify the volatile and protein profiles of preputial gland of male bandicoot rat. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) profiles revealed the presence of 47 volatile compounds in the preputial gland. More specifically, the farnesol was found to be a major compound in the preputial gland which is consistent with previous reports in the preputial gland of few other rodents. The histoarchitecture results showed that the preputial gland of male exhibited more acini cells. The protein profiles of preputial gland showed 12 prominent bands in coomassie brilliant blue stained gel. The low molecular mass protein, 19 kDa has been identified as gamma-amino butyric acid type B receptor subunit I (GABA_β receptor) by MALDI-ToF analysis. Further, to the best our knowledge, this is the first time we explored the absence of alpha 2u globulin in the 19 kDa band of preputial gland of bandicoot rat. This is in contrast to the presence of alpha 2u globulin in the preputial gland of laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) as well as house rat (Rattus rattus). The present study concludes that among the volatiles and protein analysis performed in the preputial gland, farnesol appears to be a prominent compound and the GABA_β receptor protein was identified in 19 kDa band in bandicoot rats.

KEYWORDS
Preputial Gland, Volatile Compounds, Proteins, Bandicoot Rat

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Ponnirul Ponmanickam , Samuthirapandi Muniasamy , Thangavel Rajagopal , Rengasamy Lakshminarayanan Rengarajan , Govindaraju Archunan , "Identification of GABA_β Receptor Protein and Farnesol in the Preputial Gland of Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota indica)," Advances in Zoology and Botany, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 37 - 45, 2016. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2016.040302.

(b). APA Format:
Ponnirul Ponmanickam , Samuthirapandi Muniasamy , Thangavel Rajagopal , Rengasamy Lakshminarayanan Rengarajan , Govindaraju Archunan (2016). Identification of GABA_β Receptor Protein and Farnesol in the Preputial Gland of Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota indica). Advances in Zoology and Botany, 4(3), 37 - 45. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2016.040302.