Abstract
Male mice of seven strains (ICR, C3H, C57BL, CDF1, BDF1, BALB/c, and DBA/2) were examined for their sucrose taste threshold by the two-bottle test. The concentration of sucrose solution in one of the two bottles was raised from -3.5 to 1.0 (log M) stepwise every two days. The threshold was judged in two different ways as follows: (1) The lowest concentration at which sucrose intake became significantly larger than distilled water (DW) intake (THR·t); (2) The lowest concentration at which sucrose intake exceeded the mean+SD value of DW intake at low sucrose concentration (THR·SD). In the ICR strain, the largest SD of the sucrose preference was observed at 0.5log M, where the maximum preference was observed. Individuals showing a strong preference at this concentration showed a larger THR·t than other individuals. The THR·SD was unable to detect the relationship between sucrose preference and threshold. These results indicate that the THR·t is appropriate for examining both strain difference and individual difference of sucrose taste in mice.
