Abstract: The preputial gland is an exocrine gland in mammals. It is generally believed that its secretion plays an important role in information exchange between individuals and population regulation; however, there have been no previous studies on insectivorous animals. In this study, headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS) was used to analyze the chemical composition of volatile substances in the preputial glands of male Chinese mole shrews. The results showed that the volatile chemical composition of the preputial glands of male Chinese mole-shrews (Anourosorex squamipes) mainly contained 45 compounds, including alkanes, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, ethers, esters, acids, and aromatic hydrocarbons. The preputial gland secretions of adult males contained 4 unique volatile chemical components, whereas only one unique component was detected in young males. In addition, there were 39 volatile components in the preputial glands of adult male and 28 in young male Chinese mole shrews. These results reveal age differences in the volatile chemical components in the preputial glands of mole-shrews, in which adult males have more volatile components than juvenile males. Moreover, the relative contents of different chemical components in the preputial gland secretion of the mole-shrews were different, and the relative contents of the same chemical components varied between individuals. This study shows that the preputial glands of male mole-shrews are rich in volatile compounds, with obvious differences across individuals and ages. We speculated that Butanoic acid, Ethyl acetate and Phenol are among the volatile compounds which make up the pheromones of the Chinese mole shrews. This study provides basic data for further verification of the pheromone components of the animal's preputial gland and its transmission mechanism.

Key words: Chemical communication, Chemical composition, Chinese mole shrew (Anourosorex squamipes), Preputial gland

摘要： 哺乳动物的包皮腺分泌物对个体间性引诱及繁殖行为的信息交流和种群调节有着重要的作用。本研究以四川短尾鼩（Anourosorex squamipes）为研究对象对劳亚食虫目动物包皮腺挥发性化学成分和化学通讯功能进行报道。采用顶空固相微萃取—气质联用（HS-SPME-GC/MS）的方法，分析四川短尾鼩雄体包皮腺中挥发性物质的化学组成。结果表明：（1）四川短尾鼩雄体包皮腺的挥发性化学成分主要含烷烃类、醇类、酮类、醛类、醚类、酯类、酸类、芳香烃类等45种化合物；（2）成年雄性四川短尾鼩的包皮腺中挥发性成分有39种，幼年雄性含有28种，说明四川短尾鼩成年雄体的包皮腺中挥发性化学成分多于幼年雄体；（3）成年雄体的包皮腺分泌物中含有4种特有的挥发性化学成分，幼年雄体中特有成分仅为1种，表明四川短尾鼩包皮腺中的挥发性化学成分存在年龄差异；（4）四川短尾鼩包皮腺分泌物中不同化学成分相对含量不同，同种化学成分在不同个体间的相对含量存在差异。四川短尾鼩雄性包皮腺挥发性化合物种类丰富，个体、年龄差异明显。推测挥发性化合物中丁酸（Butanoicacid）、乙酸乙酯（Ethyl acetate）、苯酚（Phenol）为四川短尾鼩的信息素。本研究为进一步验证该物种的信息素成分及其传递机制提供了基础数据。

关键词: 化学通讯, 化学成分, 四川短尾鼩, 包皮腺