Description
Research on mate choice has mainly focused on the role of morphological traits, but other sensory modes may play an important role. Since olfactory cues are likely related to compatibility among the partner at major histocompatibility complex (MHC), they could strongly affect female mate choice in a macrosmatic species such as the zebrafish. We assessed the role of visual and olfactory cues on precopulatory mating preference and, subsequently, we investigated the genetic similarity at MHC loci. To do so, we presented the same two males to a female in two consecutive days, but one day the female could rely only on vision to choose between males whereas the other day also olfactory cues were provided. Completed the trials, both females and males were genotyped to determine their MHC similarity. Our results revealed that olfactory cues changed not only the strength but also the direction of mate choice. Moreover, only when olfactory cues were provided, females preferred males with a higher number of MHC unshared alleles and also males that were more genetically different at those loci. No preference for a higher MHC compatibility was indeed found when females could rely only on visual cues to choose between the two males. Thus, our results revealed that olfactory cues convey information about MHC compatibility that influence social and reproductive behaviors in the zebrafish with females willing to maximize the resistance of offspring towards potential infections.| Period | 19 Feb 2025 → 21 Feb 2025 |
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| Event title | Etho2025, Annual Meeting of the Ethologische Gesellschaft |
| Event type | Conference |
Keywords
- mate choice
- sexual selection
- zebrafish
- genetics