Data from: A non-invasive method for sampling the body odour of mammals

1. Olfaction is a central aspect of mammalian communication, providing information about individual attributes such as identity, sex, group membership or genetic quality. Yet, the chemical underpinnings of olfactory cues remain little understood, one of the reasons being the difficulty in obtaining high quality samples for chemical analysis. 2. In the present study we adjusted and evaluated the use of thermal desorption (TD) tubes, commonly used in plant metabolomic and environmental studies, for non-invasive sampling of mammalian body odour. We obtained chemical profiles of meerkat (Suricata suricatta) body odour samples using TD tubes analysed with gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS). 3. TD tubes captured a wide range of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds including compounds likely originating from the target animals. Adjustment of sampling parameters (distance, volume, flow rate, interruption of sampling) to increase the feasibility for a non-invasive application yielded samples of adequate quality. However, to minimize the variability between samples, sampling parameters should be kept constant and samples should be collected when no conspecifics are close-by. 4. The method was sensitive enough to pick up population differences in the chemical profiles of two captive groups of meerkats, demonstrating its applicability to biological questions. With sufficiently habituated animals, the method is applicable non-invasively, allowing short- and long-term studies on a wide range of questions, including e.g. chemical signatures of kinship, diet, individual health or reproductive state.1. 嗅觉是哺乳动物交流的核心环节，可传递个体身份、性别、群体归属或遗传品质等相关信息。然而，嗅觉信号的化学基础仍鲜为人知，其中一个重要原因在于难以获取用于化学分析的高质量样本。 2. 本研究对常用于植物代谢组学与环境研究的热解吸（thermal desorption, TD）管的使用方法进行了优化与评估，以实现哺乳动物体味的非侵入性采样。研究人员利用气相色谱-质谱联用（gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS）分析TD管采集的狐獴（Suricata suricatta）体味样本，获取了其化学图谱。 3. TD管可捕获多种挥发性与半挥发性有机化合物，其中部分化合物极可能源自目标动物。通过调整采样参数（采样距离、体积、流速、采样中断时机）以提升非侵入性采样的可行性，可获得质量合格的样本。不过，为最小化样本间差异，需保持采样参数恒定，且应在无同种个体靠近时采集样本。 4. 该方法灵敏度足以区分两组圈养狐獴种群的化学图谱差异，证明其可应用于生物学相关研究问题。对于已充分适应人类活动的动物，该方法可实现非侵入性采样，能够开展短期与长期的多类研究，例如亲缘关系、饮食、个体健康或繁殖状态的化学特征相关研究。