為因應環境變化，動物發展出不同類型的感官系統來接受環境中的訊息。哺乳動物的嗅覺包括氣味感知和費洛蒙感知兩個系統；這兩個系統都會影響個體的行為，並且其相關的基因群也各不相同。尼羅河鼠(Arvicanthis niloticus)與小家鼠(Mus musculus)近緣，而褐家鼠(Rattus norvegicus)為其兩者的外群；然而，不同於夜行性的小家鼠和褐家鼠，尼羅河鼠為日行性。我們過去的研究發現，尼羅河鼠在演化過程中為節省感知所需的能量消耗，在獲得日光視覺和增強視力敏銳度的同時，其氣味感知能力發生退化。於是我們探討尼羅河鼠的費洛蒙感知系統是否與氣味感知系統在演化上連動，同時發生退化的情形。首先，我們透過微電腦斷層(Micro-CT)量測並比較小家鼠、尼羅河鼠和褐家鼠頭骨的犁鼻器(VNO, vomeronasal organ)的形態。結果顯示，尼羅河鼠犁鼻器並非三者中最小。透過基因體以及轉錄體分析，我們比較三個物種與犁鼻器功能相關的基因群數量以及mRNA表達量，這些基因包含第一型犁鼻器受體(V1R)和第二型犁鼻器受體(V2R)。結果發現儘管尼羅河鼠擁有三者中最少的V2R基因，其V1R基因數量和所佔比例皆高於褐家鼠。更重要的是，尼羅河鼠具備高mRNA表達的犁鼻器基因數量，在三個物種中最多。顯然，尼羅河鼠的費洛蒙感知系統並沒有退化。我們針對尼羅河鼠的研究顯示，哺乳動物兩種嗅覺系統在演化的過程中，呈現獨立而不連動的關係。

Animal species have evolved sensory systems that work as modules to perceive environmental cues. Mammalian olfaction comprises two major systems: the odorant detection system and the pheromone sensing system, each influencing individual behavior through distinct gene families. The Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), which is phylogenetically closer to the mouse (Mus musculus) than the rat (Rattus norvegicus), has recently transitioned from a nocturnal to a diurnal diel pattern. Our previous study on the Nile rat showed that the odorant detection system of this species has been traded off evolutionarily following the acquisition of daylight vision and enhanced visual acuity. In this thesis, we investigate whether the pheromone sensing system of the Nile rat has been evolutionarily coupled with the odorant detection system and has also degenerated. To explore this, we compared the morphological data of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) based on 3D models derived from micro-CT images of the mouse, the Nile rat, and the rat skulls. The results indicate that the Nile rat doesn't have the smallest VNO size in terms of relative sizes of both length and surface area. Additionally, we conducted comparative genomics and transcriptome of the three species, focusing on two vomeronasal receptors gene families: type 1 vomeronasal receptors (V1Rs) and type 2 vomeronasal receptors (V2Rs). The Nile rat has the fewest V2R genes, but it has a greater number of V1R genes and a higher ratio of intact V1R genes compared to the rat. More importantly, the mRNA abundance data showed that the number of VNO-expressed V1R genes in the Nile rat is the largest among the three species studied. Our findings suggest that the pheromone sensing system of the Nile rat has not degenerated, indicating that the two olfaction systems of the Nile rat have evolved independently.

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