Evolution of Rodent Pheromones: A Review of the ABPs with Comparison to the ESPs and the MUPs

Three proteinaceous pheromone families, the androgen-binding proteins (ABPs), the exocrine-gland secreting peptides (ESPs) and the major urinary proteins (MUPs) are encoded by large gene families in the Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus genomes. The purpose of this article is to review what is known about the evolutionary histories of the the Abp gene family expansions in rodents and, where appropriate, to compare them to what is known of the expansions of the Mup and Esp gene families. The issues important to these histories are the extent of the gene family expansions, the timing of their expansions and the roles played by selection, gene conversion and non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR). I also compare and contrast the evolutionary histories of all three mouse gene families in light of the proposed functions of their pheromones in mouse communication.