Effects of genotype and intrauterine location on the propensity for infanticide by primarous female mice

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Abstract
The effect of being located in utero between two females (0M), a male and a female (1M) or two males (2M) was assessed on subsequent infanticidal behaviour (i.e. the killing of alien pups) in primiparous female outbred Swiss and inbred BALB/c and C57BL/10 mice. Strain of subject had a significant effect on infanticide, with Swiss females showing a higher incidence than subjects of the other strains. Intrauterine location also had a significant effect on this behaviour with 2M females showing most infanticide, 0M female least and 1M females being intermediate in this respect. It seems likely that the intrauterine effects are caused by exposure to transplacental androgen from male siblings. Genotype might influence the capacity of animals to respond to hormonal influences in early life. The possible implications of this phenomenon on the reproductive ecology of house mice are examined.