Does the farming environment impact the vomeronasal organ condition?
Thu-P1-006
Presented by: Violaine Mechin
Chemical communication is used by mammals to maintain the social harmony in groups through the exchange of pheromones. The reception of these molecules is mainly insured by the vomeronasal organ (VNO). When altered, this organ cannot properly detect cues strongly impacting the animal life.
Intensive farming exposes animals to dangerous substances such as ammonia, a gas produced during litter degradation and responsible of the respiratory tract damages. Due to the anatomical proximity to these structures, the aim of this study was to investigate if an environment rich in ammonia can induce VNO conditions.
We characterized ammonia exposure effects on murine VNOs using histology. Animals were split in 3 groups of 10 mice: G1 = mice in normal laboratory environment; G2 = mice in the cage with an increase of the natural ammonia concentration; G3 = mice in the cage with a litter changed every 5 days to limit the ammonia concentration at 0 ppm. After 21 days, VNO were histologically analyzed and a qualitative score (0 = healthy, 1 = weak, and 2 = strong) was used to evaluate the condition of non-sensorial (NSE) and sensorial (VNSE) epithelium and VNO soft tissue. In normal housing, mice VNO were significantly less impacted than mice in the cage, concerning the NSE inflammation (p=0.0016), the VNSE degeneration (p=0.0023), and the alteration of the VNO soft tissue (p<0.0001) (Fisher’s exact test). Even if no significant differences were observed, mice exposed to natural ammonia presented stronger signs of VNO alteration than non-exposed ones.
In conclusion, mice housed in a closed environment presented more VNO alterations than those in a normal housing, as probable consequence of dust and gas accumulation. Furthermore, natural ammonia seems to increase the onset of these lesions. These preliminary results on a murine model suggest that the housing environment can strongly impact VNO conditions, opening interesting perspectives for farm animals.
Intensive farming exposes animals to dangerous substances such as ammonia, a gas produced during litter degradation and responsible of the respiratory tract damages. Due to the anatomical proximity to these structures, the aim of this study was to investigate if an environment rich in ammonia can induce VNO conditions.
We characterized ammonia exposure effects on murine VNOs using histology. Animals were split in 3 groups of 10 mice: G1 = mice in normal laboratory environment; G2 = mice in the cage with an increase of the natural ammonia concentration; G3 = mice in the cage with a litter changed every 5 days to limit the ammonia concentration at 0 ppm. After 21 days, VNO were histologically analyzed and a qualitative score (0 = healthy, 1 = weak, and 2 = strong) was used to evaluate the condition of non-sensorial (NSE) and sensorial (VNSE) epithelium and VNO soft tissue. In normal housing, mice VNO were significantly less impacted than mice in the cage, concerning the NSE inflammation (p=0.0016), the VNSE degeneration (p=0.0023), and the alteration of the VNO soft tissue (p<0.0001) (Fisher’s exact test). Even if no significant differences were observed, mice exposed to natural ammonia presented stronger signs of VNO alteration than non-exposed ones.
In conclusion, mice housed in a closed environment presented more VNO alterations than those in a normal housing, as probable consequence of dust and gas accumulation. Furthermore, natural ammonia seems to increase the onset of these lesions. These preliminary results on a murine model suggest that the housing environment can strongly impact VNO conditions, opening interesting perspectives for farm animals.