Research interests
My research interests are focused around the behavioural and biochemical mechanisms of olfactory communication. I address my research questions using the house mouse, Mus domesticus, as a model system.
Mammals often utilise soluble binding proteins in chemical communication, both for the delivery of volatile pheromones and in perception of chemical signals. In addition to a number of volatile components, the urine of house mice contains large amounts of highly polymorphic proteins termed the major urinary proteins (MUPs). I was involved in the MUP knockout project investigating the molecular basis of sex recognition, the role of volatiles in sex and individual recognition and the heterogeneity of MUPs. During this project we identified darcin, a male pheromone responsible for stimulating female memory and sexual attraction to an individual male's odour. Following that I was involved in a project addressing mechanisms underlying kin recognition, and the importance of kinship in cooperative breeding between females. I am now involved in a project investigating the use of scent signals to monitor and manipulate rodent behaviour.
Education and career
- BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, University of Liverpool (1998 - 2001)
- MPhil, Protein Function Group, University of Liverpool (2001 - 2003) The protein complement of pig saliva
- PhD, University of Liverpool (2003-2006), Chemical communication in the house mice: Linking biochemistry and behaviour
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mammalian Behaviour & Evolution Group, University of Liverpool (2006 - 2010), MUP knockout mice: implications for chemical communication and a generic research tool (BBSRC; PI: Professor Jane Hurst)
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mammalian Behaviour & Evolution Group, University of Liverpool (2010 - 2012), The decision to cooperate: kin recognition mechanisms in female house mice (NERC, PI: Professor Jane Hurst)
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mammalian Behaviour & Evolution Group, University of Liverpool (2012 - 2017), The interplay of rodent behaviour and semiochemistry: from scientific principles to control strategies (BBSRC; PI: Professor Jane Hurst)
Publications
Hurst JL, Beynon RJ, Armstrong SD, Davidson AJ, Roberts SA, Gomez-Buena G, Smadja CM & Ganem G (2017) Molecular heterogeneity in major urinary proteins of Mus musculus subspecies: potential candidates involved in speciation. Scientific Reports 7: 44992. DOI: 10.1038/srep44992
Beynon RJ, Armstrong SA, Claydon AJ, Davidson AJ, Eyers CE, Langridge JI, Gomez-Baena G, Harman VM, Hurst JL, Lee V, McLean L, Pattison R, Roberts SA, Simpson DM, Unsworth J, Vonderach M, Williams JP, Woolerton YE (2015) Mass spectrometry for structural analysis and quantification of the Major Urinary Proteins of the house mouse. International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 391: 146-156.
Roberts, S.A., Davidson, A.J., Beynon, R.J. & Hurst, J.L. (2014) Female attraction to male scent and associative learning: the house mouse as a mammalian model. Animal Behaviour, 97:313-321.
Roberts, S.A., Davidson, A.J., McLean, L., Beynon, R.J. & Hurst, J.L. (2012) Pheromonal induction of spatial learning in mice. Science 338: 1462-1465.
Beynon, R.J., Armstrong, S.D., Roberts, S.A., Davidson, A., Simpson, D.M., Turton, M.J., Unsworth, J. & Hurst, J.L. (in press) The application of proteomics to the discovery and quantification of proteins in scent signals. In: Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 12 (Eds. M.L. East & M. Dehnhard). Springer, New York.
Roberts, S.A., Simpson, D.M., Armstrong, S.D., Davidson, A.J., Robertson, D.H., McLean, L., Beynon, R.J. & Hurst, J.L. (2010) Darcin: a male pheromone that stimulates female memory and sexual attraction to an individual male's odour. BMC Biology 8: 75. Nominated 'Exceptional' in Faculty1000.
Cheetham, S.A., Smith, A.L., Armstrong, S.D., Beynon, R.J. & Hurst, J.L. (2009) Limited variation in the Major Urinary Proteins of laboratory mice. Physiology & Behavior, 96, 253-261.
Ramm, S.A., Cheetham, S.A. & Hurst, J.L. (2008) Encoding choosiness: female attraction requires prior physical contact with individual male scents in mice. Proceedings of the Royal Society series B, 275, 1727-1735.
Cheetham, S.A., Thom, M.D., Jury, F., Ollier, W.E.R., Beynon, R.J. & Hurst, J. L. (2007) The genetic basis of individual recognition signals in the mouse. Current Biology 17: 1771-1777. Nominated 'Must Read' in Faculty1000.
Cheetham, S.A., Thom, M.D., Beynon, R.J. & Hurst, J.L. (2008) The effect of familiarity on mate choice. In: Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11 (Eds. J.L. Hurst, R.J. Beynon, S.C. Roberts & T.D. Wyatt), pp.271-280. Springer, New York.
Beynon, R.J., Hurst, J.L., Turton, M.J., Robertson, D.H.L., Armstrong, S.D., Cheetham, S.A., Simpson, D., MacNicoll, A. & Humphries, R.E. (2008) Urinary lipocalins in Rodenta: is there a generic model?. In: Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11 (Eds. J.L. Hurst, R.J. Beynon, S.C. Roberts & T.D. Wyatt), pp.37-50. Springer, New York.
Armstrong, S.D., Robertson, D.H.L., Cheetham, S.A., Hurst, J.L. & Beynon, R.J. (2005) Structural and functional differences in isoforms of Major Urinary Proteins: a male specific protein that preferentially binds a male pheromone. Biochemical Journal 391, 343-350.
Robertson, D.H.L., Cheetham, S.A., Armstrong, S.D., Hurst, J.L. & Beynon, R.J. (2005) Characterisation of proteins in scent marks: proteomics meets semiochemistry. In Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 10 (Ed. R.T. Mason, M.P. LeMaster & D. Muller-Schwarze), pp.183-198 Springer, New York.
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