Aggression among group housed male mice continues to challenge laboratory animal researchers because mitigation strategies are generally applied at the cage level without a good understanding of how it affects the dominance hierarchy. Aggression within a group is typically displayed by the dominant mouse targeting lower ranking subordinates; thus, the strategies for preventing aggression may be more successful if applied specifically to the dominant mouse. Unfortunately, dominance rank is often not assessed because of time intensive observations or tests. Several correlates of dominance status have been identified, but none have been directly compared to home cage behavior in standard housing. This study assessed the convergent validity of three dominance correlates (urinary darcin, tube test score, preputial gland to body length ratio) with wound severity and rankings based on home cage behavior, using factor analysis. Discriminant validity with open field measures was assessed to determine if tube test scores are independent of anxiety. Cages were equally split between SJL and albino C57BL/6 strains and group sizes of 3 or 5 (N=24). Home cage behavior was observed during the first week, and dominance measures were recorded over the second. After controlling for strain and group size, darcin and preputial ratio had strong loadings on the same factor, which was a significant predictor of home cage ranking showing strong convergent validity. Tube test scores were not significantly impacted by open field data, showing discriminant validity. Social network analysis revealed that despotic power structures were prevalent, aggressors were typically more active and rested away from cage mates, and the amount of social investigation and aggression performed by an individual were highly correlated. Data from this study show that darcin and preputial ratio are representative of home cage aggression and provide further insight into individual behavior patterns in group housed male mice.

中文翻译：

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谁是老大？评估雄性实验室小鼠基于攻击性的优势测量的收敛效度，Mus musculus

群体饲养的雄性小鼠之间的攻击性继续挑战实验室动物研究人员，因为缓解策略通常应用于笼子级别，而没有很好地了解它如何影响优势等级。群体内的攻击性通常由主要针对较低级别下属的鼠标来表现；因此，如果专门应用于优势鼠标，防止攻击的策略可能会更成功。不幸的是，由于时间密集的观察或测试，优势排名通常不被评估。已经确定了几个主导地位的相关性，但没有一个直接与标准住房中的笼子行为进行比较。本研究评估了三种优势相关性（尿 darcin、试管测试分数、包皮腺体长比）与伤口严重程度和排名基于家庭笼行为，使用因子分析。评估了开放场测量的区分效度，以确定试管测试分数是否与焦虑无关。笼子在 SJL 和白化 C57BL/6 菌株之间平均分配，组大小为 3 或 5 (N = 24)。在第一周观察家笼行为，并在第二周记录优势措施。在控制应变和组大小后，darcin 和包皮比在同一因素上具有很强的负载，这是家庭笼排名的重要预测因子，显示出很强的收敛效度。试管测试分数不受开放领域数据的显着影响，显示了区分效度。社交网络分析显示，专制权力结构盛行，攻击者通常更活跃并且远离笼子，并且个体进行的社会调查和攻击的数量高度相关。来自这项研究的数据表明，darcin 和包皮比率代表了家笼攻击性，并提供了对群养雄性小鼠个体行为模式的进一步了解。