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Antonson ND, Enos JK, Lawson SL, Uy FMK, Gill SA, Lynch KS, Hauber ME. Functional neurogenomic responses to acoustic threats, including a heterospecific referential alarm call and its referent, in the auditory forebrain of red-winged blackbirds. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2155. [PMID: 38272959 PMCID: PMC10810909 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51797-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
In animal communication, functionally referential alarm calls elicit the same behavioral responses as their referents, despite their typically distinct bioacoustic traits. Yet the auditory forebrain in at least one songbird species, the black-capped chickadee Poecile atricapillus, responds similarly to threat calls and their referent predatory owl calls, as assessed by immediate early gene responses in the secondary auditory forebrain nuclei. Whether and where in the brain such perceptual and cognitive equivalence is processed remains to be understood in most other avian systems. Here, we studied the functional neurogenomic (non-) equivalence of acoustic threat stimuli perception by the red-winged blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus in response to the actual calls of the obligate brood parasitic brown-headed cowbird Molothrus ater and the referential anti-parasitic alarm calls of the yellow warbler Setophaga petechia, upon which the blackbird is known to eavesdrop. Using RNA-sequencing from neural tissue in the auditory lobule (primary and secondary auditory nuclei combined), in contrast to previous findings, we found significant differences in the gene expression profiles of both an immediate early gene, ZENK (egr-1), and other song-system relevant gene-products in blackbirds responding to cowbird vs. warbler calls. In turn, direct cues of threats (including conspecific intruder calls and nest-predator calls) elicited higher ZENK and other differential gene expression patterns compared to harmless heterospecific calls. These patterns are consistent with a perceptual non-equivalence in the auditory forebrain of adult male red-winged blackbirds in response to referential calls and the calls of their referents.
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Affiliation(s)
- N D Antonson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - J K Enos
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - S L Lawson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - F M K Uy
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - S A Gill
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
| | - K S Lynch
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA
| | - M E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.
- Advanced Science Research Center and Program in Psychology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
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2
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Cordero-Molina S, Fetter-Pruneda I, Contreras-Garduño J. Neural mechanisms involved in female mate choice in invertebrates. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2024; 14:1291635. [PMID: 38269245 PMCID: PMC10807292 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1291635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Mate choice is a critical decision with direct implications for fitness. Although it has been recognized for over 150 years, our understanding of its underlying mechanisms is still limited. Most studies on mate choice focus on the evolutionary causes of behavior, with less attention given to the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved. This is especially true for invertebrates, where research on mate choice has largely focused on male behavior. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on the neural, molecular and neurohormonal mechanisms of female choice in invertebrates, including behaviors before, during, and after copulation. We identify areas of research that have not been extensively explored in invertebrates, suggesting potential directions for future investigation. We hope that this review will stimulate further research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagrario Cordero-Molina
- Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Ingrid Fetter-Pruneda
- Departamento de Biología Celular y Fisiología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Jorge Contreras-Garduño
- Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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3
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Young RL, Price SM, Schumer M, Wang S, Cummings ME. Individual variation in preference behavior in sailfin fish refines the neurotranscriptomic pathway for mate preference. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10323. [PMID: 37492456 PMCID: PMC10363800 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interactions can drive distinct gene expression profiles which may vary by social context. Here we use female sailfin molly fish (Poecilia latipinna) to identify genomic profiles associated with preference behavior in distinct social contexts: male interactions (mate choice) versus female interactions (shoaling partner preference). We measured the behavior of 15 females interacting in a non-contact environment with either two males or two females for 30 min followed by whole-brain transcriptomic profiling by RNA sequencing. We profiled females that exhibited high levels of social affiliation and great variation in preference behavior to identify an order of magnitude more differentially expressed genes associated with behavioral variation than by differences in social context. Using a linear model (limma), we took advantage of the individual variation in preference behavior to identify unique gene sets that exhibited distinct correlational patterns of expression with preference behavior in each social context. By combining limma and weighted gene co-expression network analyses (WGCNA) approaches we identified a refined set of 401 genes robustly associated with mate preference that is independent of shoaling partner preference or general social affiliation. While our refined gene set confirmed neural plasticity pathways involvement in moderating female preference behavior, we also identified a significant proportion of discovered that our preference-associated genes were enriched for 'immune system' gene ontology categories. We hypothesize that the association between mate preference and transcriptomic immune function is driven by the less well-known role of these genes in neural plasticity which is likely involved in higher-order learning and processing during mate choice decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca L. Young
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of TexasAustinTexasUSA
| | - Sarah M. Price
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of TexasAustinTexasUSA
| | - Molly Schumer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
- Present address:
Department of BiologyStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Silu Wang
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of TexasAustinTexasUSA
- Present address:
Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
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4
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Dimitriadou S, Santos EM, Croft DP, van Aerle R, Ramnarine IW, Filby AL, Darden SK. Social partner cooperativeness influences brain oxytocin transcription in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Behav Brain Res 2021; 423:113643. [PMID: 34757109 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
For non-kin cooperation to be maintained, individuals need to respond adaptively to the cooperative behaviour of their social partners. Currently, however, little is known about the biological responses of individuals to experiencing cooperation. Here, we quantify the neuroregulatory response of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) experiencing cooperation or defection by examining the transcriptional response of the oxytocin gene (oxt; also known as isotocin), which has been implicated in cooperative decision-making. We exposed wild-caught females to social environments where partners either cooperated or defected during predator inspection, or to a control (non-predator inspection) context, and quantified the relative transcription of the oxt gene. We tested an experimental group, originating from a site where individuals are under high predation threat and have previous experience of large aquatic predators (HP), and a control group, where individuals are under low predation threat and naïve to large aquatic predators (LP). LP, but not HP, fish showed different behavioural responses to the behaviour of their social environment, cooperating with cooperative partners and defecting when paired with defecting ones. In HP, but not LP, fish brain mid-section oxt relative transcription varied depending on social partner behaviour. HP fish experiencing cooperation during predator inspection had lower oxt transcription than those experiencing defection. This effect was not present in the control population or in the control context, where the behaviour of social partners did not affect oxt transcription. Our findings provide insight into the neuromodulation underpinning behavioural responses to social experiences, and ultimately to the proximate mechanisms underlying social decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia Dimitriadou
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | - Eduarda M Santos
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK; Sustainable Aquaculture Futures, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Ronny van Aerle
- Sustainable Aquaculture Futures, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK; International Centre of Excellence for Aquatic Animal Health, Cefas Weymouth Laboratory, Weymouth, UK
| | - Indar W Ramnarine
- Department of Life Sciences, University of West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
| | - Amy L Filby
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Safi K Darden
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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5
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Fischer EK, Hauber ME, Bell AM. Back to the basics? Transcriptomics offers integrative insights into the role of space, time and the environment for gene expression and behaviour. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210293. [PMID: 34520681 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fuelled by the ongoing genomic revolution, broadscale RNA expression surveys are fast replacing studies targeting one or a few genes to understand the molecular basis of behaviour. Yet, the timescale of RNA-sequencing experiments and the dynamics of neural gene activation are insufficient to drive real-time switches between behavioural states. Moreover, the spatial, functional and transcriptional complexity of the brain (the most commonly targeted tissue in studies of behaviour) further complicates inference. We argue that a Central Dogma-like 'back-to-basics' assumption that gene expression changes cause behaviour leaves some of the most important aspects of gene-behaviour relationships unexplored, including the roles of environmental influences, timing and feedback from behaviour-and the environmental shifts it causes-to neural gene expression. No perfect experimental solutions exist but we advocate that explicit consideration, exploration and discussion of these factors will pave the way toward a richer understanding of the complicated relationships between genes, environments, brain gene expression and behaviour over developmental and evolutionary timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva K Fischer
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA
| | - Alison M Bell
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA
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6
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Romero-Diaz C, Xu C, Campos SM, Herrmann MA, Kusumi K, Hews DK, Martins EP. Brain transcriptomic responses of Yarrow's spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, to conspecific visual or chemical signals. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2021; 20:e12753. [PMID: 34036739 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Species with multimodal communication integrate information from social cues in different modalities into behavioral responses that are mediated by changes in gene expression in the brain. Differences in patterns of gene expression between signal modalities may shed light on the neuromolecular mechanisms underlying multisensory processing. Here, we use RNA-Seq to analyze brain transcriptome responses to either chemical or visual social signals in a territorial lizard with multimodal communication. Using an intruder challenge paradigm, we exposed 18 wild-caught, adult, male Sceloporus jarrovii to either male conspecific scents (femoral gland secretions placed on a small pebble), the species-specific push-up display (a programmed robotic model), or a control (an unscented pebble). We conducted differential expression analysis with both a de novo S. jarrovii transcriptome assembly and the reference genome of a closely related species, Sceloporus undulatus. Despite some inter-individual variation, we found significant differences in gene expression in the brain across signal modalities and the control in both analyses. The most notable differences occurred between chemical and visual stimulus treatments, closely followed by visual stimulus versus the control. Altered expression profiles could explain documented aggression differences in the immediate behavioral response to conspecific signals from different sensory modalities. Shared differentially expressed genes between visually- or chemically-stimulated males are involved in neural activity and neurodevelopment and several other differentially expressed genes in stimulus-challenged males are involved in conserved signal-transduction pathways associated with the social stress response, aggression and the response to territory intruders across vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cindy Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Stephanie M Campos
- Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Morgan A Herrmann
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Kenro Kusumi
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Diana K Hews
- Department of Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA
| | - Emília P Martins
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
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7
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Neural substrates involved in the cognitive information processing in teleost fish. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:923-946. [PMID: 33907938 PMCID: PMC8360893 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01514-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Over the last few decades, it has been shown that fish, comprising the largest group of vertebrates and in many respects one of the least well studied, possess many cognitive abilities comparable to those of birds and mammals. Despite a plethora of behavioural studies assessing cognition abilities and an abundance of neuroanatomical studies, only few studies have aimed to or in fact identified the neural substrates involved in the processing of cognitive information. In this review, an overview of the currently available studies addressing the joint research topics of cognitive behaviour and neuroscience in teleosts (and elasmobranchs wherever possible) is provided, primarily focusing on two fundamentally different but complementary approaches, i.e. ablation studies and Immediate Early Gene (IEG) analyses. More recently, the latter technique has become one of the most promising methods to visualize neuronal populations activated in specific brain areas, both during a variety of cognitive as well as non-cognition-related tasks. While IEG studies may be more elegant and potentially easier to conduct, only lesion studies can help researchers find out what information animals can learn or recall prior to and following ablation of a particular brain area.
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8
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Saaristo M, Craft JA, Tyagi S, Johnstone CP, Allinson M, Ibrahim KS, Wong BBM. Transcriptome-wide changes associated with the reproductive behaviour of male guppies exposed to 17α-ethinyl estradiol. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2021; 270:116286. [PMID: 33360600 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Although many pharmaceutical compounds (and their metabolites) can induce harmful impacts at the molecular, physiological and behavioural levels, their underlying mechanistic associations have remained largely unexplored. Here, we utilized RNA-Seq to build a whole brain transcriptome profile to examine the impact of a common endocrine disrupting pharmaceutical (17α-ethinyl estradiol, EE2) on reproductive behaviour in wild guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Specifically, we annotated 16,791 coding transcripts in whole brain tissue in relation to the courtship behaviour (i.e. sigmoid display) of EE2 exposed (at environmentally relevant concentration of 8 ng/L for 28-days) and unexposed guppies. Further, we obtained 10,960 assembled transcripts matching in the non-coding orthologous genomes. Behavioural responses were assessed using a standard mate choice experiment, which allowed us to disentangle chemical cues from visual cues. We found that a high proportion of the RNAseq reads aligned back to our de novo assembled transcriptome with 80.59% mapping rate. Behavioural experiments showed that when males were presented only with female visual cues, there was a significant interaction between male treatment and female treatment in the time spent in the preference zone. This is one of the first studies to show that transcriptome-wide changes are associated with the reproductive behaviour of fish: EE2 exposed male guppies that performed high levels of courtship had a gene profile that deviated the most from the other treatment groups, while both non-courting EE2 and control males had similar gene signatures. Using Gene Ontology pathway analysis, our study shows that EE2-exposed males had gene transcripts enriched for pathways associated with altered immunity, starvation, altered metabolism and spermatogenesis. Our study demonstrates that multiple gene networks orchestrate courting behaviour, emphasizing the importance of investigating impacts of pharmaceuticals on gene networks instead of single genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna Saaristo
- EPA Victoria, Water Sciences, Melbourne, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Australia; Department of Biosciences, Åbo Akademi University, Finland.
| | - John A Craft
- Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
| | - Sonika Tyagi
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Australia
| | | | - Mayumi Allinson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Khalid S Ibrahim
- Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK; Department of Biology, University of Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Australia
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9
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Jones BM, Rao VD, Gernat T, Jagla T, Cash-Ahmed AC, Rubin BER, Comi TJ, Bhogale S, Husain SS, Blatti C, Middendorf M, Sinha S, Chandrasekaran S, Robinson GE. Individual differences in honey bee behavior enabled by plasticity in brain gene regulatory networks. eLife 2020; 9:e62850. [PMID: 33350385 PMCID: PMC7755388 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the regulatory architecture of phenotypic variation is a fundamental goal in biology, but connections between gene regulatory network (GRN) activity and individual differences in behavior are poorly understood. We characterized the molecular basis of behavioral plasticity in queenless honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies, where individuals engage in both reproductive and non-reproductive behaviors. Using high-throughput behavioral tracking, we discovered these colonies contain a continuum of phenotypes, with some individuals specialized for either egg-laying or foraging and 'generalists' that perform both. Brain gene expression and chromatin accessibility profiles were correlated with behavioral variation, with generalists intermediate in behavior and molecular profiles. Models of brain GRNs constructed for individuals revealed that transcription factor (TF) activity was highly predictive of behavior, and behavior-associated regulatory regions had more TF motifs. These results provide new insights into the important role played by brain GRN plasticity in the regulation of behavior, with implications for social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beryl M Jones
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Vikyath D Rao
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Tim Gernat
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Swarm Intelligence and Complex Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Leipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Tobias Jagla
- Swarm Intelligence and Complex Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Leipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Amy C Cash-Ahmed
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Benjamin ER Rubin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Troy J Comi
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Shounak Bhogale
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Syed S Husain
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
| | - Charles Blatti
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Martin Middendorf
- Swarm Intelligence and Complex Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Leipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Saurabh Sinha
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Sriram Chandrasekaran
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
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10
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Gallot A, Sauzet S, Desouhant E. Kin recognition: Neurogenomic response to mate choice and sib mating avoidance in a parasitic wasp. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241128. [PMID: 33104752 PMCID: PMC7588116 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Sib mating increases homozygosity, which therefore increases the risk of inbreeding depression. Selective pressures have favoured the evolution of kin recognition and avoidance of sib mating in numerous species, including the parasitoid wasp Venturia canescens. We studied the female neurogenomic response associated with sib mating avoidance after females were exposed to courtship displays by i) unrelated males or ii) related males or iii) no courtship (controls). First, by comparing the transcriptional responses of females exposed to courtship displays to those exposed to controls, we saw a rapid and extensive transcriptional shift consistent with social environment. Second, by comparing the transcriptional responses of females exposed to courtship by related to those exposed to unrelated males, we characterized distinct and repeatable transcriptomic patterns that correlated with the relatedness of the courting male. Network analysis revealed 3 modules of specific ‘sib-responsive’ genes that were distinct from other ‘courtship-responsive’ modules. Therefore, specific neurogenomic states with characteristic brain transcriptomes associated with different behavioural responses affect sib mating avoidance behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurore Gallot
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Sandrine Sauzet
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS–Université de Montpellier, UMR 9002, Biology of Repetitive Sequences, Montpellier, France
| | - Emmanuel Desouhant
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
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11
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Bloch NI, Corral‐López A, Buechel SD, Kotrschal A, Kolm N, Mank JE. Different mating contexts lead to extensive rewiring of female brain coexpression networks in the guppy. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 20:e12697. [DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Natasha I. Bloch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering Universidad de Los Andes Bogotá D.C. Colombia
| | - Alberto Corral‐López
- Department of Zoology/Ethology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment University College London UK
| | | | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology/Ethology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Wageningen University Behavioral Ecology Group Wageningen Netherlands
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | - Judith E. Mank
- University of British Columbia Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre Vancouver Canada
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment University College London UK
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12
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Sinha S, Jones BM, Traniello IM, Bukhari SA, Halfon MS, Hofmann HA, Huang S, Katz PS, Keagy J, Lynch VJ, Sokolowski MB, Stubbs LJ, Tabe-Bordbar S, Wolfner MF, Robinson GE. Behavior-related gene regulatory networks: A new level of organization in the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:23270-23279. [PMID: 32661177 PMCID: PMC7519311 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1921625117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal networks are the standard heuristic model today for describing brain activity associated with animal behavior. Recent studies have revealed an extensive role for a completely distinct layer of networked activities in the brain-the gene regulatory network (GRN)-that orchestrates expression levels of hundreds to thousands of genes in a behavior-related manner. We examine emerging insights into the relationships between these two types of networks and discuss their interplay in spatial as well as temporal dimensions, across multiple scales of organization. We discuss properties expected of behavior-related GRNs by drawing inspiration from the rich literature on GRNs related to animal development, comparing and contrasting these two broad classes of GRNs as they relate to their respective phenotypic manifestations. Developmental GRNs also represent a third layer of network biology, playing out over a third timescale, which is believed to play a crucial mediatory role between neuronal networks and behavioral GRNs. We end with a special emphasis on social behavior, discuss whether unique GRN organization and cis-regulatory architecture underlies this special class of behavior, and review literature that suggests an affirmative answer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saurabh Sinha
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801;
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
| | - Beryl M Jones
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Ian M Traniello
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
| | - Syed A Bukhari
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
- Informatics Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61820
| | - Marc S Halfon
- Department of Biochemistry, University at Buffalo-State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14203
| | - Hans A Hofmann
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
| | - Sui Huang
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA 98109
| | - Paul S Katz
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Jason Keagy
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
| | - Vincent J Lynch
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo-State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260
| | - Marla B Sokolowski
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
- Program in Child and Brain Development, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Lisa J Stubbs
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
| | - Shayan Tabe-Bordbar
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
| | - Mariana F Wolfner
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801;
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801
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13
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DeAngelis RS, Hofmann HA. Neural and molecular mechanisms underlying female mate choice decisions in vertebrates. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/17/jeb207324. [PMID: 32895328 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.207324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Female mate choice is a dynamic process that allows individuals to selectively mate with those of the opposite sex that display a preferred set of traits. Because in many species males compete with each other for fertilization opportunities, female mate choice can be a powerful agent of sexual selection, often resulting in highly conspicuous traits in males. Although the evolutionary causes and consequences of the ornamentation and behaviors displayed by males to attract mates have been well studied, embarrassingly little is known about the proximate neural mechanisms through which female choice occurs. In vertebrates, female mate choice is inherently a social behavior, and although much remains to be discovered about this process, recent evidence suggests the neural substrates and circuits underlying other fundamental social behaviors (such as pair bonding, aggression and parental care) are likely similarly recruited during mate choice. Notably, female mate choice is not static, as social and ecological environments can shape the brain and, consequently, behavior in specific ways. In this Review, we discuss how social and/or ecological influences mediate female choice and how this occurs within the brain. We then discuss our current understanding of the neural substrates underlying female mate choice, with a specific focus on those that also play a role in regulating other social behaviors. Finally, we propose several promising avenues for future research by highlighting novel model systems and new methodological approaches, which together will transform our understanding of the causes and consequences of female mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ross S DeAngelis
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Hans A Hofmann
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA .,Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA.,Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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14
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Bell AM. Individual variation and the challenge hypothesis. Horm Behav 2020; 123:104549. [PMID: 31247185 PMCID: PMC6980443 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/23/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In this paper I discuss how the challenge hypothesis (Wingfield et al., 1990) influenced the development of ideas about animal personality, and describe particularly promising areas for future study at the intersection of these two topics. I argue that the challenge hypothesis influenced the study of animal personality in at least three specific ways. First, the challenge hypothesis drew attention to the ways in which the environment experienced by an organism - including the social environment - can influence biological processes internal to the organism, e.g. changes to physiology, gene expression, neuroendocrine state and epigenetic modifications. That is, the challenge hypothesis illustrated the bidirectional, dynamic relationship between hormones and (social) environments, thereby helping us to understand how behavioral variation among individuals can emerge over time. Because the paper was inspired by data collected on free living animals in natural populations, it drew behavioral ecologists' attention to this phenomenon. Second, the challenge hypothesis highlighted what became a paradigmatic example of a hormonal mechanism for a behavioral spillover, i.e. testosterone's pleiotropic effects on both territorial aggression and parental care causes aggression to "spillover" to influence parenting behavior, thereby limiting behavioral plasticity. Third, the challenge hypothesis contributed to what is now a cottage industry examining individual differences in hormone titres and their relationship with behavioral variation. I argue that one particularly promising future research direction in this area is to consider the active role of behavior and behavioral types in eliciting social interactions, including territorial challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Bell
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, United States of America.
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15
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Behavioral and brain- transcriptomic synchronization between the two opponents of a fighting pair of the fish Betta splendens. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008831. [PMID: 32555673 PMCID: PMC7299326 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Conspecific male animals fight for resources such as food and mating opportunities but typically stop fighting after assessing their relative fighting abilities to avoid serious injuries. Physiologically, how the fighting behavior is controlled remains unknown. Using the fighting fish Betta splendens, we studied behavioral and brain-transcriptomic changes during the fight between the two opponents. At the behavioral level, surface-breathing, and biting/striking occurred only during intervals between mouth-locking. Eventually, the behaviors of the two opponents became synchronized, with each pair showing a unique behavioral pattern. At the physiological level, we examined the expression patterns of 23,306 brain transcripts using RNA-sequencing data from brains of fighting pairs after a 20-min (D20) and a 60-min (D60) fight. The two opponents in each D60 fighting pair showed a strong gene expression correlation, whereas those in D20 fighting pairs showed a weak correlation. Moreover, each fighting pair in the D60 group showed pair-specific gene expression patterns in a grade of membership analysis (GoM) and were grouped as a pair in the heatmap clustering. The observed pair-specific individualization in brain-transcriptomic synchronization (PIBS) suggested that this synchronization provides a physiological basis for the behavioral synchronization. An analysis using the synchronized genes in fighting pairs of the D60 group found genes enriched for ion transport, synaptic function, and learning and memory. Brain-transcriptomic synchronization could be a general phenomenon and may provide a new cornerstone with which to investigate coordinating and sustaining social interactions between two interacting partners of vertebrates. Agonistic encounters induce changes in the brain and behavior, but their underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. The fighting fish Betta splendens are small freshwater fish that are well known for their aggressiveness and are widely used to study aggression. Here, by measuring aggressive behavior displays (bite/strike/surface-breathing) between two opponents during fighting, we demonstrate that the two opponents in each fighting pair showed similar fighting configurations by influencing each other. In addition, we compared brain gene expression between opponents and showed synchronization of gene expression within a fighting pair, leading to pair-specific synchronization in genes associated with ion transport, synapse function, and learning and memory. This study presents the possibility that similar behaviors in pairs of animals under similar conditions may trigger synchronizing waves of transcription between the individuals, providing a hint to support the idea that fighting behaviors contain cooperative aspects at the molecular level.
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16
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Forebrain Transcriptional Response to Transient Changes in Circulating Androgens in a Cichlid Fish. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:1971-1982. [PMID: 32276961 PMCID: PMC7263668 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
It has been hypothesized that androgens respond to the social interactions as a way to adjust the behavior of individuals to the challenges of the social environment in an adaptive manner. Therefore, it is expected that transient changes in circulating androgen levels within physiological scope should impact the state of the brain network that regulates social behavior, which should translate into adaptive behavioral changes. Here, we examined the effect that a transient peak in androgen circulating levels, which mimics socially driven changes in androgen levels, has on the forebrain state, which harbors most nuclei of the social decision-making network. For this purpose, we successfully induced transient changes in circulating androgen levels in an African cichlid fish (Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus) commonly used as a model in behavioral neuroendocrinology by injecting 11-ketotestosterone or testosterone, and compared the forebrain transcriptome of these individuals to control fish injected with vehicle. Forebrain samples were collected 30 min and 60 min after injection and analyzed using RNAseq. Our results showed that a transient peak in 11-ketotestosterone drives more accentuated changes in forebrain transcriptome than testosterone, and that transcriptomic impact was greater at the 30 min than at the 60 min post-androgen administration. Several genes involved in the regulation of translation, steroid metabolism, ion channel membrane receptors, and genes involved in epigenetic mechanisms were differentially expressed after 11-ketotestosterone or testosterone injection. In summary, this study identified specific candidate genes that may regulate socially driven changes in behavioral flexibility mediated by androgens.
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17
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Lynch KS, Louder MIM, Friesen CN, Fischer EK, Xiang A, Steele A, Shalov J. Examining the disconnect between prolactin and parental care in avian brood parasites. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 19:e12653. [PMID: 32198809 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Prolactin is often referred to as the "parental hormone" but there are examples in which prolactin and parental behavior are disconnected. One intriguing example is in avian obligate brood parasites; species exhibiting high circulating prolactin but no parental care. To understand this disconnect, we examined transcriptional and behavioral responses to prolactin in brown-headed (Molothrus ater) and bronzed (M aeneus) brood parasitic cowbirds. We first examine prolactin-dependent regulation of transcriptome wide gene expression in the preoptic area (POA), a brain region associated with parental care across vertebrates. We next examined prolactin-dependent abundance of seven parental care-related candidate genes in hypothalamic regions that are prolactin-responsive in other avian species. We found no evidence of prolactin sensitivity in cowbirds in either case. To understand this prolactin insensitivity, we compared prolactin receptor transcript abundance between parasitic and nonparasitic species and between prolactin treated and untreated cowbirds. We observed significantly lower prolactin receptor transcript abundance in brown-headed but not bronzed cowbird POA compared with a nonparasite and no prolactin-dependent changes in either parasitic species. Finally, estrogen-primed female brown-headed cowbirds with or without prolactin treatment exhibited significantly greater avoidance of nestling begging stimuli compared with untreated birds. Taken together, our results suggest that modified prolactin receptor distributions in the POA and surrounding hypothalamic regions disconnect prolactin from parental care in brood parasitic cowbirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen S Lynch
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA
| | - Matthew I M Louder
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.,International Research Center for Neurointelligence, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Caitlin N Friesen
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Eva K Fischer
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Angell Xiang
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA
| | - Angela Steele
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA
| | - Julia Shalov
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA
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18
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Delclos PJ, Forero SA, Rosenthal GG. Divergent neurogenomic responses shape social learning of both personality and mate preference. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb220707. [PMID: 32054683 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.220707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Behavior plays a fundamental role in shaping the origin and fate of species. Mating decisions can act to promote or restrict gene flow, as can personality traits that influence dispersal and niche use. Mate choice and personality are often both learned and therefore influenced by an individual's social environment throughout development. Likewise, the molecular pathways that shape these behaviors may also be co-expressed. In this study on swordtail fish (Xiphophorus birchmanni), we show that female mating preferences for species-typical pheromone cues are entirely dependent on social experience with adult males. Experience with adults also shapes development along the shy-bold personality axis, with shy behaviors arising from exposure to risk-averse heterospecifics as a potential stress-coping strategy. In maturing females, conspecific exposure results in a strong upregulation of olfaction and vision genes compared with heterospecific exposure, as well as immune response genes previously linked to anxiety, learning and memory. Conversely, heterospecific exposure involves an increased expression of genes important for neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity and social decision-making. We identify subsets of genes within the social decision-making network and with known stress-coping roles that may be directly coupled to the olfactory processes females rely on for social communication. Based on these results, we conclude that the social environment affects the neurogenomic trajectory through which socially sensitive behaviors are learned, resulting in adult phenotypes adapted for specific social groupings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo J Delclos
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Centro de Investigaciones Científicas de las Huastecas 'Aguazarca', A. C., Calnali, Hidalgo 43233, Mexico
- Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77004, USA
| | - Santiago A Forero
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Gil G Rosenthal
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Centro de Investigaciones Científicas de las Huastecas 'Aguazarca', A. C., Calnali, Hidalgo 43233, Mexico
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19
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Kim D, Aspbury AS, Zúñiga-Vega JJ, Gabor CR. Smaller rival males do not affect male mate choice or cortisol but do affect 11-ketotestosterone in a unisexual-bisexual mating complex of fish. Behav Processes 2019; 167:103916. [PMID: 31386887 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Revised: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Male mate discrimination may be affected by the social environment (presence or absence of rival males or mates), which can also affect stress and sex hormones (e.g., cortisol and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT)). The Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa, is an all-female fish species dependent on sperm from mating with male P. latipinna. We investigated male mate choice in P. latipinna between conspecific females and P. formosa with a rival male present and no rival male present. We measured cortisol and 11-KT release rates from all fish. The presence of a rival male had no effect on male mate choice for conspecific females nor overall mating effort. Male 11-KT decreased on the second day after exposure to a rival male on the first day. Focal male 11-KT is positively correlated with the size of the rival male. Both conspecific and heterospecific females released more 11-KT when in the rival male treatment than when not. Neither male nor female cortisol was affected by the presence or absence of the rival male. We did not find an effect of rival males on male mate choice in contrast to our prediction. Instead, our findings may indicate a hormonal response to social competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Kim
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
| | - Andrea S Aspbury
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
| | - J Jaime Zúñiga-Vega
- Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuidad Universitaria 04510, Distrito Federal, Mexico
| | - Caitlin R Gabor
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.
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20
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Ligocki IY, Munson A, Farrar V, Viernes R, Sih A, Connon RE, Calisi RM. Environmentally relevant concentrations of bifenthrin affect the expression of estrogen and glucocorticoid receptors in brains of female western mosquitofish. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2019; 209:121-131. [PMID: 30769158 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2018.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Revised: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, pyrethroid pesticides have been deemed a safer alternative to previously used pesticides. While some evidence supports this assumption in mammals and birds, exposure to certain pyrethroids can affect concentrations of hormones vital to reproduction in fish. Thus, we hypothesized that pyrethroid exposure impacts fish reproductive behavior and the expression of genes associated with reproduction. We tested our hypothesis by examining effects of the widely used pyrethroid pesticide, bifenthrin, on the reproductive behaviors of the broadly distributed livebearing western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. We exposed sexually mature female fish to one of five environmentally relevant concentrations of bifenthrin and conducted behavioral assays to assess reproductive, social, and space use behaviors before and after exposure. We did not detect changes in behaviors measured in response to bifenthrin. However, exposure was associated with increased expression of an estrogen receptor gene (ER-α) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in brain tissue at bifenthrin concentrations at concentrations of 5.90 and 24.82 ng/L, and 5.90 and 12.21 ng/L, respectively. Our study supports the perspective that the use of multiple endpoints through integrative approaches is essential for understanding the cumulative impact of pollutants. Integrating physiological, morphological, and behavioral investigations of nonlethal concentrations of pollutants like bifenthrin may heighten our potential to predict their impact on individuals, populations, and communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Y Ligocki
- Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Org. Biology, The Ohio State University, 43210, United States; Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, United States.
| | - Amelia Munson
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, United States
| | - Victoria Farrar
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, United States
| | - Rechelle Viernes
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, United States
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, United States
| | - Richard E Connon
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology, University of California, Davis, United States
| | - Rebecca M Calisi
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, United States
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21
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Kasper C, Colombo M, Aubin-Horth N, Taborsky B. Brain activation patterns following a cooperation opportunity in a highly social cichlid fish. Physiol Behav 2018; 195:37-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2018] [Revised: 07/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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22
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Cummings ME. Sexual conflict and sexually dimorphic cognition—reviewing their relationship in poeciliid fishes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2483-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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23
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Renn SC, Machado HE, Duftner N, Sessa AK, Harris RM, Hofmann HA. Gene expression signatures of mating system evolution. Genome 2018; 61:287-297. [DOI: 10.1139/gen-2017-0075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The diversity of mating systems among animals is astounding. Importantly, similar mating systems have evolved even across distantly related taxa. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these convergently evolved phenotypes is limited. Here, we examine on a genomic scale the neuromolecular basis of social organization in cichlids of the tribe Ectodini from Lake Tanganyika. Using field-collected males and females of four closely related species representing two independent evolutionary transitions from polygyny to monogamy, we take a comparative transcriptomic approach to test the hypothesis that these independent transitions have recruited similar gene sets. Our results demonstrate that while lineage and species exert a strong influence on neural gene expression profiles, social phenotype can also drive gene expression evolution. Specifically, 331 genes (∼6% of those assayed) were associated with monogamous mating systems independent of species or sex. Among these genes, we find a strong bias (4:1 ratio) toward genes with increased expression in monogamous individuals. A highly conserved nonapeptide system known to be involved in the regulation of social behavior across animals was not associated with mating system in our analysis. Overall, our findings suggest deep molecular homologies underlying the convergent or parallel evolution of monogamy in different cichlid lineages of Ectodini.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heather E. Machado
- Department of Biology, Reed College
- Department of Biology, Stanford University
| | - Nina Duftner
- Department of Integrative Biology, the University of Texas at Austin
| | - Anna K. Sessa
- Department of Integrative Biology, the University of Texas at Austin
| | - Rayna M. Harris
- Department of Integrative Biology, the University of Texas at Austin
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the University of Texas at Austin
| | - Hans A. Hofmann
- Department of Integrative Biology, the University of Texas at Austin
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the University of Texas at Austin
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Institute for Neuroscience, the University of Texas at Austin
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24
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Derycke S, Kéver L, Herten K, Van den Berge K, Van Steenberge M, Van Houdt J, Clement L, Poncin P, Parmentier E, Verheyen E. Neurogenomic Profiling Reveals Distinct Gene Expression Profiles Between Brain Parts That Are Consistent in Ophthalmotilapia Cichlids. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:136. [PMID: 29593484 PMCID: PMC5855355 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The detection of external and internal cues alters gene expression in the brain which in turn may affect neural networks that underly behavioral responses. Previous studies have shown that gene expression profiles differ between major brain regions within individuals and between species with different morphologies, cognitive abilities and/or behaviors. A detailed description of gene expression in all macroanatomical brain regions and in species with similar morphologies and behaviors is however lacking. Here, we dissected the brain of two cichlid species into six macroanatomical regions. Ophthalmotilapia nasuta and O. ventralis have similar morphology and behavior and occasionally hybridize in the wild. We use 3′ mRNA sequencing and a stage-wise statistical testing procedure to identify differential gene expression between females that were kept in a social setting with other females. Our results show that gene expression differs substantially between all six brain parts within species: out of 11,577 assessed genes, 8,748 are differentially expressed (DE) in at least one brain part compared to the average expression of the other brain parts. At most 16% of these DE genes have |log2FC| significantly higher than two. Functional differences between brain parts were consistent between species. The majority (61–79%) of genes that are DE in a particular brain part were shared between both species. Only 32 genes show significant differences in fold change across brain parts between species. These genes are mainly linked to transport, transmembrane transport, transcription (and its regulation) and signal transduction. Moreover, statistical equivalence testing reveals that within each comparison, on average 89% of the genes show an equivalent fold change between both species. The pronounced differences in gene expression between brain parts and the conserved patterns between closely related species with similar morphologies and behavior suggest that unraveling the interactions between genes and behavior will benefit from neurogenomic profiling of distinct brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofie Derycke
- Operational Direction Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Loic Kéver
- Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Morphology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Behavioural Biology Unit, Ethology and Animal Psychology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Koen Herten
- Department of Human Genetics, Genomics Core Facility, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Koen Van den Berge
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maarten Van Steenberge
- Operational Direction Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Section Vertebrates, Ichthyology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
| | - Jeroen Van Houdt
- Department of Human Genetics, Genomics Core Facility, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lieven Clement
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Pascal Poncin
- Behavioural Biology Unit, Ethology and Animal Psychology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Eric Parmentier
- Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Morphology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Erik Verheyen
- Operational Direction Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
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25
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Genomic tools for behavioural ecologists to understand repeatable individual differences in behaviour. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:944-955. [PMID: 29434349 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0411-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Behaviour is a key interface between an animal's genome and its environment. Repeatable individual differences in behaviour have been extensively documented in animals, but the molecular underpinnings of behavioural variation among individuals within natural populations remain largely unknown. Here, we offer a critical review of when molecular techniques may yield new insights, and we provide specific guidance on how and whether the latest tools available are appropriate given different resources, system and organismal constraints, and experimental designs. Integrating molecular genetic techniques with other strategies to study the proximal causes of behaviour provides opportunities to expand rapidly into new avenues of exploration. Such endeavours will enable us to better understand how repeatable individual differences in behaviour have evolved, how they are expressed and how they can be maintained within natural populations of animals.
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26
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Simmons LW, Lovegrove M. Socially cued seminal fluid gene expression mediates responses in ejaculate quality to sperm competition risk. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1486. [PMID: 28855372 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
There is considerable evidence that males will increase the number of sperm ejaculated in response to sperm competition risk. However, whether they have the capacity to adjust seminal fluid components of the ejaculate has received less attention. Male crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) have been shown to adjust the viability of sperm in their ejaculate in response to sperm competition risk. Here we show that socially mediated plasticity in sperm viability is probably due, at least in part, to male adjustments in the protein composition of the seminal fluid. Seven seminal fluid protein genes were found to have an increased expression in males exposed to rival calls. Increased expression of these genes was correlated with increased sperm viability in whole ejaculates, and gene knockdown confirmed that at least one of these proteins promotes sperm viability. Our results lend support for recent theoretical models that predict complex responses in male allocation to seminal fluid composition in response to sperm competition risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leigh W Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Australia
| | - Maxine Lovegrove
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Australia
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27
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Immonen E, Sayadi A, Bayram H, Arnqvist G. Mating Changes Sexually Dimorphic Gene Expression in the Seed Beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Genome Biol Evol 2017; 9:677-699. [PMID: 28391318 PMCID: PMC5381559 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evx029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexually dimorphic phenotypes arise largely from sex-specific gene expression, which has mainly been characterized in sexually naïve adults. However, we expect sexual dimorphism in transcription to be dynamic and dependent on factors such as reproductive status. Mating induces many behavioral and physiological changes distinct to each sex and is therefore expected to activate regulatory changes in many sex-biased genes. Here, we first characterized sexual dimorphism in gene expression in Callosobruchus maculatus seed beetles. We then examined how females and males respond to mating and how it affects sex-biased expression, both in sex-limited (abdomen) and sex-shared (head and thorax) tissues. Mating responses were largely sex-specific and, as expected, females showed more genes responding compared with males (∼2,000 vs. ∼300 genes in the abdomen, ∼500 vs. ∼400 in the head and thorax, respectively). Of the sex-biased genes present in virgins, 16% (1,041 genes) in the abdomen and 17% (243 genes) in the head and thorax altered their relative expression between the sexes as a result of mating. Sex-bias status changed in 2% of the genes in the abdomen and 4% in the head and thorax following mating. Mating responses involved de-feminization of females and, to a lesser extent, de-masculinization of males relative to their virgin state: mating decreased rather than increased dimorphic expression of sex-biased genes. The fact that regulatory changes of both types of sex-biased genes occurred in both sexes suggests that male- and female-specific selection is not restricted to male- and female-biased genes, respectively, as is sometimes assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elina Immonen
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre (Animal Ecology), Uppsala University, Uppsala
| | - Ahmed Sayadi
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre (Animal Ecology), Uppsala University, Uppsala
| | - Helen Bayram
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre (Animal Ecology), Uppsala University, Uppsala
| | - Göran Arnqvist
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre (Animal Ecology), Uppsala University, Uppsala
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28
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Bukhari SA, Saul MC, Seward CH, Zhang H, Bensky M, James N, Zhao SD, Chandrasekaran S, Stubbs L, Bell AM. Temporal dynamics of neurogenomic plasticity in response to social interactions in male threespined sticklebacks. PLoS Genet 2017; 13:e1006840. [PMID: 28704398 PMCID: PMC5509087 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals exhibit dramatic immediate behavioral plasticity in response to social interactions, and brief social interactions can shape the future social landscape. However, the molecular mechanisms contributing to behavioral plasticity are unclear. Here, we show that the genome dynamically responds to social interactions with multiple waves of transcription associated with distinct molecular functions in the brain of male threespined sticklebacks, a species famous for its behavioral repertoire and evolution. Some biological functions (e.g., hormone activity) peaked soon after a brief territorial challenge and then declined, while others (e.g., immune response) peaked hours afterwards. We identify transcription factors that are predicted to coordinate waves of transcription associated with different components of behavioral plasticity. Next, using H3K27Ac as a marker of chromatin accessibility, we show that a brief territorial intrusion was sufficient to cause rapid and dramatic changes in the epigenome. Finally, we integrate the time course brain gene expression data with a transcriptional regulatory network, and link gene expression to changes in chromatin accessibility. This study reveals rapid and dramatic epigenomic plasticity in response to a brief, highly consequential social interaction. Social interactions provoke changes in the brain and behavior but their underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Male sticklebacks are small fish whose fitness depends on their ability to defend a territory. Here, by measuring the time course of gene expression in response to a territorial challenge in two brain regions, we show that a single brief territorial intrusion provoked waves of gene expression that persisted for hours afterwards, with waves of transcription associated with distinct biological processes. Moreover, a single territorial challenge caused dramatic changes to the epigenome. Changes in chromatin accessibility corresponded to changes in gene expression, and to the activity of transcription factors operating within gene regulatory networks. This study reveals rapid and dramatic epigenomic plasticity in response to a brief, highly consequential social interaction. These results suggest that meaningful social interactions (even brief ones) can provoke waves of transcription and changes to the epigenome which lead to changes in neural functioning, and those changes are a mechanism by which animals update their assessment of their social world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed Abbas Bukhari
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Illinois Informatics Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Michael C. Saul
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Christopher H. Seward
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Huimin Zhang
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Miles Bensky
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Noelle James
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Sihai Dave Zhao
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Department of Statistics, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL United States of America
| | - Sriram Chandrasekaran
- Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Lisa Stubbs
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Alison M. Bell
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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29
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Benowitz KM, McKinney EC, Cunningham CB, Moore AJ. Relating quantitative variation within a behavior to variation in transcription. Evolution 2017; 71:1999-2009. [PMID: 28542920 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2017] [Revised: 05/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Many studies have shown that variation in transcription is associated with changes in behavioral state, or with variation within a state, but little has been done to address if the same genes are involved in both. Here, we investigate the transcriptional basis of variation in parental provisioning using two species of burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis and Nicrophorus vespilloides. We used RNA-seq to compare transcription in parents that provided high amounts of provisioning behavior versus low amounts in males and females of each species. We found no overarching transcriptional patterns distinguishing high from low caring parents, and no informative transcripts that displayed particularly large expression differences in either sex. However, we did find subtler gene expression differences between high and low provisioning parents that are consistent across both sexes and species. Furthermore, we show that transcripts previously implicated in transitioning into parental care in N. vespilloides had high variance in the levels of transcription and were unusually likely to display differential expression between high and low provisioning parents. Thus, quantitative behavioral variation appears to reflect many transcriptional differences of small effect. Furthermore, the same transcripts required for the transition between behavioral states are also related to variation within a behavioral state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle M Benowitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602
| | | | - Christopher B Cunningham
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602.,Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Allen J Moore
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602
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30
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Saaristo M, Wong BBM, Mincarelli L, Craig A, Johnstone CP, Allinson M, Lindström K, Craft JA. Characterisation of the transcriptome of male and female wild-type guppy brains with RNA-Seq and consequences of exposure to the pharmaceutical pollutant, 17α-ethinyl estradiol. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2017; 186:28-39. [PMID: 28246045 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2017.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Waterways are increasingly being contaminated by chemical compounds that can disrupt the endocrinology of organisms. One such compound is 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), a synthetic estrogen used in the contraceptive pill. Despite considerable research interest in the effects of EE2 on reproduction and gene expression, surprisingly, only a few studies have capitalised on technologies, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), to uncover the molecular pathways related to EE2 exposure. Accordingly, using high-throughput sequencing technologies, the aim of our study was to explore the effects of EE2 on brain transcriptome in wild-type male and female guppy (Poecilia reticulata). We conducted two sets of experiments, where fish were exposed to EE2 (measured concentrations: 8ng/L and 38ng/L) in a flow-through system for 21days. The effects on the brain transcriptome on both males and females were assessed using Illumina sequencing (MiSeq and HiSeq) platform followed by bioinformatics analysis (edgeR, DESeq2). Here, we report that exposure to EE2 caused both up- and downregulation of specific transcript abundances, and affected transcript abundance in a sex-specific manner. Specifically, we found 773 transcripts, of which 60 were male-specific, 61 female-specific and 285 treatment-specific. EE2 affected expression of 165 transcripts in males, with 88 downregulated and 77 upregulated, while in females, 120 transcripts were affected with 62 downregulated and 58 upregulated. Finally, RT-qPCR validation demonstrated that expression of transcripts related to transposable elements, neuroserpin and heat shock protein were significantly affected by EE2-exposure. Our study is the first to report brain transcriptome libraries for guppies exposed to EE2. Not only does our study provide a valuable resource, it offers insights into the mechanisms underlying the feminizing effects on the brains of organisms exposed to environmentally realistic concentrations of EE2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna Saaristo
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 3800 Victoria, Australia; Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland.
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 3800 Victoria, Australia
| | - Laura Mincarelli
- Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
| | - Allison Craig
- Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
| | | | - Mayumi Allinson
- Victorian Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of Chemistry, 3010 Victoria, Australia
| | - Kai Lindström
- Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland
| | - John A Craft
- Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
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31
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Nyman C, Fischer S, Aubin-Horth N, Taborsky B. Effect of the early social environment on behavioural and genomic responses to a social challenge in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:3186-3203. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Revised: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Nyman
- Division of Behavioural Ecology; Institute for Ecology and Evolution; University of Bern; Wohlenstrasse 50A CH-3032 Hinterkappelen Switzerland
| | - Stefan Fischer
- Institute of Integrative Biology; University of Liverpool; Leahurst Campus Chester High Road Neston CH64 7TE UK
| | - Nadia Aubin-Horth
- Département de Biologie et Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes; Université Laval; Quebec Canada G1V OA6
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Division of Behavioural Ecology; Institute for Ecology and Evolution; University of Bern; Wohlenstrasse 50A CH-3032 Hinterkappelen Switzerland
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32
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Roth-Monzón AJ, Scott LE, Camargo AA, Clark EI, Schott EE, Johnson JB. Sympatry Predicts Spot Pigmentation Patterns and Female Association Behavior in the Livebearing Fish Poeciliopsis baenschi. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170326. [PMID: 28107407 PMCID: PMC5249170 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2016] [Accepted: 01/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we explored the possibility that differences in pigmentation patterns among populations of the fish Poeciliopsis baenschi were associated with the presence or absence of the closely related species P. turneri. If reproductive character displacement is responsible, spotting patterns in these two species should diverge in sympatry, but not allopatry. We predicted that female P. baenschi from sympatric sites should show a preference for associating with conspecifics vs. heterospecific males, but females from allopatric sites should show no such preferences. To evaluate these predictions, we compared spotting patterns and female association behaviors in populations of P. baenschi from Central Mexico. We found that both of our predictions were supported. Poeciliopsis baenschi that co-occured with P. turneri had spotting patterns significantly different than their counterparts from allopatric sites. Using a simultaneous choice test of video presentations of males, we also found that female P. baenschi from populations that co-occured with P. turneri spent significantly more time with males of their own species than with P. turneri males. In contrast, females from allopatric populations of P. baenschi showed no differences in the amount of time they spent with either conspecific or heterospecific males. Together, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that reproductive character displacement may be responsible for behavioral and spotting pattern differences in these populations of P. baenschi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea J Roth-Monzón
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
| | - Laura E Scott
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
| | - Ashley A Camargo
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
| | - Eliza I Clark
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
| | - Eric E Schott
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
| | - Jerald B Johnson
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America.,Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
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33
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Mate-choice copying, social information processing, and the roles of oxytocin. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 72:232-242. [PMID: 27923732 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2016] [Revised: 11/23/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Social and sexual behaviors, including that of mate choice, are dependent on social information. Mate choice can be modified by prior and ongoing social factors and experience. The mate choice decisions of one individual can be influenced by either the actual or potential mate choice of another female or male. Such non-independent mate choice, where individuals gain social information and socially learn about and recognizes potential mates by observing the choices of another female or male, has been termed "mate-choice copying". Here we first briefly review how, why, and under what circumstances individuals engage in mate-choice copying. Secondly, we review the neurobiological mechanisms underlying mate-choice copying. In particular, we consider the roles of the nonapeptide, oxytocin, in the processing of social information and the expression of mate-choice copying.
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34
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Nugent BM, Stiver KA, Alonzo SH, Hofmann HA. Neuroendocrine profiles associated with discrete behavioural variation in
Symphodus ocellatus
, a species with male alternative reproductive tactics. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:5212-5227. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2015] [Revised: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- B. M. Nugent
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University 165 Prospect St. New Haven CT 06520 USA
- Department of Integrative Biology Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics The University of Texas at Austin 2415 Speedway Austin TX 78712 USA
| | - K. A. Stiver
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University 165 Prospect St. New Haven CT 06520 USA
- Department of Psychology Southern Connecticut State University 501 Crescent St. New Haven CT 06515 USA
| | - S. H. Alonzo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University 165 Prospect St. New Haven CT 06520 USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Santa Cruz 1156 High St. Santa Cruz CA 95064 USA
| | - H. A. Hofmann
- Department of Integrative Biology Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics The University of Texas at Austin 2415 Speedway Austin TX 78712 USA
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35
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Sanogo YO, Bell AM. Molecular mechanisms and the conflict between courtship and aggression in three-spined sticklebacks. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:4368-76. [PMID: 27452346 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Revised: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In nature, animals often face conflicting demands. For example, breeding males must attract a mate but at the same time be ready to defend against rivals. The molecular mechanisms by which the brain resolves behavioural trade-offs are largely unknown. In this study, we compared the brain transcriptional responses of territorial male three-spined sticklebacks to a mating opportunity with a female and to a territorial challenge by a rival male. We focused on the diencephalon and the cerebellum, two regions of the brain implicated in courtship and aggression. There was a set of genes that were differentially expressed in response to both a courtship opportunity and a territorial challenge. Closer inspection of the direction of regulation revealed that genes that were downregulated in response to a courtship opportunity were upregulated in response to a territorial challenge and vice versa. Our study reveals some of the potential molecular mechanisms underlying behavioural trade-offs between sex and aggression, along with a possible solution to the conflict via social context-dependent gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yibayiri O Sanogo
- School of Integrative Biology, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Ave., 433 Morrill Hall, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Alison M Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Ave., 433 Morrill Hall, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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36
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Liu H, Robinson GE, Jakobsson E. Conservation in Mammals of Genes Associated with Aggression-Related Behavioral Phenotypes in Honey Bees. PLoS Comput Biol 2016; 12:e1004921. [PMID: 27359102 PMCID: PMC4928799 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2015] [Accepted: 04/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The emerging field of sociogenomics explores the relations between social behavior and genome structure and function. An important question is the extent to which associations between social behavior and gene expression are conserved among the Metazoa. Prior experimental work in an invertebrate model of social behavior, the honey bee, revealed distinct brain gene expression patterns in African and European honey bees, and within European honey bees with different behavioral phenotypes. The present work is a computational study of these previous findings in which we analyze, by orthology determination, the extent to which genes that are socially regulated in honey bees are conserved across the Metazoa. We found that the differentially expressed gene sets associated with alarm pheromone response, the difference between old and young bees, and the colony influence on soldier bees, are enriched in widely conserved genes, indicating that these differences have genomic bases shared with many other metazoans. By contrast, the sets of differentially expressed genes associated with the differences between African and European forager and guard bees are depleted in widely conserved genes, indicating that the genomic basis for this social behavior is relatively specific to honey bees. For the alarm pheromone response gene set, we found a particularly high degree of conservation with mammals, even though the alarm pheromone itself is bee-specific. Gene Ontology identification of human orthologs to the strongly conserved honey bee genes associated with the alarm pheromone response shows overrepresentation of protein metabolism, regulation of protein complex formation, and protein folding, perhaps associated with remodeling of critical neural circuits in response to alarm pheromone. We hypothesize that such remodeling may be an adaptation of social animals to process and respond appropriately to the complex patterns of conspecific communication essential for social organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Liu
- Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Gene E. Robinson
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Eric Jakobsson
- Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
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37
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Lea AJ, Altmann J, Alberts SC, Tung J. Resource base influences genome-wide DNA methylation levels in wild baboons (Papio cynocephalus). Mol Ecol 2016; 25:1681-96. [PMID: 26508127 PMCID: PMC4846536 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2015] [Revised: 10/19/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Variation in resource availability commonly exerts strong effects on fitness-related traits in wild animals. However, we know little about the molecular mechanisms that mediate these effects, or about their persistence over time. To address these questions, we profiled genome-wide whole-blood DNA methylation levels in two sets of wild baboons: (i) 'wild-feeding' baboons that foraged naturally in a savanna environment and (ii) 'Lodge' baboons that had ready access to spatially concentrated human food scraps, resulting in high feeding efficiency and low daily travel distances. We identified 1014 sites (0.20% of sites tested) that were differentially methylated between wild-feeding and Lodge baboons, providing the first evidence that resource availability shapes the epigenome in a wild mammal. Differentially methylated sites tended to occur in contiguous stretches (i.e., in differentially methylated regions or DMRs), in promoters and enhancers, and near metabolism-related genes, supporting their functional importance in gene regulation. In agreement, reporter assay experiments confirmed that methylation at the largest identified DMR, located in the promoter of a key glycolysis-related gene, was sufficient to causally drive changes in gene expression. Intriguingly, all dispersing males carried a consistent epigenetic signature of their membership in a wild-feeding group, regardless of whether males dispersed into or out of this group as adults. Together, our findings support a role for DNA methylation in mediating ecological effects on phenotypic traits in the wild and emphasize the dynamic environmental sensitivity of DNA methylation levels across the life course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J. Lea
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Jeanne Altmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, 106A Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, P. O. Box 24481, Karen 00502, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Susan C. Alberts
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, P. O. Box 24481, Karen 00502, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Jenny Tung
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, P. O. Box 24481, Karen 00502, Nairobi, Kenya
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Duke University Population Research Institute, Box 90420, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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38
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Cummings ME, Ramsey ME. Mate choice as social cognition: predicting female behavioral and neural plasticity as a function of alternative male reproductive tactics. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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39
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Bell AM, Dochtermann NA. Integrating molecular mechanisms into quantitative genetics to understand consistent individual differences in behavior. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2015; 6:111-114. [PMID: 26858967 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
It is now well appreciated that individual animals behave differently from one another and that individual differences in behaviors-personality differences-are maintained through time and across situations. Quantitative genetics has emerged as a conceptual basis for understanding the key ingredients of personality: (co)variation and plasticity. However, the results from quantitative genetic analyses are often divorced from underlying molecular or other proximate mechanisms. This disconnect has the potential to impede an integrated understanding of behavior and is a disconnect present throughout evolutionary ecology. Here we discuss some of the main conceptual connections between personality and quantitative genetics, the relationship of both with genomic tools, and areas that require integration. With its consideration of both trait variation and plasticity, the study of animal personality offers new opportunities to incorporate molecular mechanisms into both the trait partitioning and reaction norm frameworks provided by quantitative genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Neuroscience Program and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
| | - Ned A Dochtermann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dept. 2715, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050
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40
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Social Regulation of Gene Expression in Threespine Sticklebacks. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137726. [PMID: 26367311 PMCID: PMC4569571 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying genes that are differentially expressed in response to social interactions is informative for understanding the molecular basis of social behavior. To address this question, we described changes in gene expression as a result of differences in the extent of social interactions. We housed threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) females in either group conditions or individually for one week, then measured levels of gene expression in three brain regions using RNA-sequencing. We found that numerous genes in the hindbrain/cerebellum had altered expression in response to group or individual housing. However, relatively few genes were differentially expressed in either the diencephalon or telencephalon. The list of genes upregulated in fish from social groups included many genes related to neural development and cell adhesion as well as genes with functions in sensory signaling, stress, and social and reproductive behavior. The list of genes expressed at higher levels in individually-housed fish included several genes previously identified as regulated by social interactions in other animals. The identified genes are interesting targets for future research on the molecular mechanisms of normal social interactions.
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Wong RY, Lamm MS, Godwin J. Characterizing the neurotranscriptomic states in alternative stress coping styles. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:425. [PMID: 26032017 PMCID: PMC4450845 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1626-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/08/2015] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animals experience stress in many contexts and often successfully cope. Individuals exhibiting the proactive versus reactive stress coping styles display qualitatively different behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stressors. The predisposition to exhibiting a particular coping style is due to genetic and environmental factors. In this study we explore the neurotranscriptomic and gene network biases that are associated with differences between zebrafish (Danio rerio) lines selected for proactive and reactive coping styles and reared in a common garden environment. RESULTS Using RNA-sequencing we quantified the basal transcriptomes from the brains of wild-derived zebrafish lines selectively bred to exhibit the proactive or reactive stress coping style. We identified 1953 genes that differed in baseline gene expression levels. Weighted gene coexpression network analyses identified one gene module associated with line differences. Together with our previous pharmacological experiment, we identified a core set of 62 genes associated with line differences. Gene ontology analyses reveal that many of these core genes are implicated in neurometabolism (e.g. organic acid biosynthetic and fatty acid metabolic processes). CONCLUSIONS Our results show that proactive and reactive stress coping individuals display distinct basal neurotranscriptomic states. Differences in baseline expression of select genes or regulation of specific gene modules are linked to the magnitude of the behavioral response and the display of a coping style, respectively. Our results expand the molecular mechanisms of stress coping from one focused on the neurotransmitter systems to a more complex system that involves an organism's capability to handle neurometabolic loads and allows for comparisons with other animal taxa to uncover potential conserved mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Y Wong
- Department of Biological Sciences, W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Box 7614, Raleigh, NC 27695-7614, USA.
- Current Address: Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA.
| | - Melissa S Lamm
- Department of Biological Sciences, W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Box 7614, Raleigh, NC 27695-7614, USA.
| | - John Godwin
- Department of Biological Sciences, W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Box 7614, Raleigh, NC 27695-7614, USA.
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Cummings ME. The mate choice mind: studying mate preference, aversion and social cognition in the female poeciliid brain. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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43
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Chandrasekaran S, Rittschof CC, Djukovic D, Gu H, Raftery D, Price ND, Robinson GE. Aggression is associated with aerobic glycolysis in the honey bee brain(1). GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2015; 14:158-66. [PMID: 25640316 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2014] [Revised: 01/10/2015] [Accepted: 01/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Aerobic glycolysis involves increased glycolysis and decreased oxidative catabolism of glucose even in the presence of an ample oxygen supply. Aerobic glycolysis, a common metabolic pattern in cancer cells, was recently discovered in both the healthy and diseased human brain, but its functional significance is not understood. This metabolic pattern in the brain is surprising because it results in decreased efficiency of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in a tissue with high energetic demands. We report that highly aggressive honey bees (Apis mellifera) show a brain transcriptomic and metabolic state consistent with aerobic glycolysis, i.e. increased glycolysis in combination with decreased oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, exposure to alarm pheromone, which provokes aggression, causes a metabolic shift to aerobic glycolysis in the bee brain. We hypothesize that this metabolic state, which is associated with altered neurotransmitter levels, increased glycolytically derived ATP and a reduced cellular redox state, may lead to increased neuronal excitability and oxidative stress in the brain. Our analysis provides evidence for a robust, distinct and persistent brain metabolic response to aggression-inducing social cues. This finding for the first time associates aerobic glycolysis with naturally occurring behavioral plasticity, which has important implications for understanding both healthy and diseased brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Chandrasekaran
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA; Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology
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Simões JM, Barata EN, Harris RM, O'Connell LA, Hofmann HA, Oliveira RF. Social odors conveying dominance and reproductive information induce rapid physiological and neuromolecular changes in a cichlid fish. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:114. [PMID: 25766511 PMCID: PMC4344806 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1255-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Social plasticity is a pervasive feature of animal behavior. Animals adjust the expression of their social behavior to the daily changes in social life and to transitions between life-history stages, and this ability has an impact in their Darwinian fitness. This behavioral plasticity may be achieved either by rewiring or by biochemically switching nodes of the neural network underlying social behavior in response to perceived social information. Independent of the proximate mechanisms, at the neuromolecular level social plasticity relies on the regulation of gene expression, such that different neurogenomic states emerge in response to different social stimuli and the switches between states are orchestrated by signaling pathways that interface the social environment and the genotype. Here, we test this hypothesis by characterizing the changes in the brain profile of gene expression in response to social odors in the Mozambique Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. This species has a rich repertoire of social behaviors during which both visual and chemical information are conveyed to conspecifics. Specifically, dominant males increase their urination frequency during agonist encounters and during courtship to convey chemical information reflecting their dominance status. Results We recorded electro-olfactograms to test the extent to which the olfactory epithelium can discriminate between olfactory information from dominant and subordinate males as well as from pre- and post-spawning females. We then performed a genome-scale gene expression analysis of the olfactory bulb and the olfactory cortex homolog in order to identify the neuromolecular systems involved in processing these social stimuli. Conclusions Our results show that different olfactory stimuli from conspecifics’ have a major impact in the brain transcriptome, with different chemical social cues eliciting specific patterns of gene expression in the brain. These results confirm the role of rapid changes in gene expression in the brain as a genomic mechanism underlying behavioral plasticity and reinforce the idea of an extensive transcriptional plasticity of cichlid genomes, especially in response to rapid changes in their social environment. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1255-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- José M Simões
- Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal. .,Integrative Behavioural Biology Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal. .,Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Eduardo N Barata
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal. .,Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 94, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal.
| | - Rayna M Harris
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. .,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Lauren A O'Connell
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. .,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. .,Current address: FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Hans A Hofmann
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. .,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. .,Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Rui F Oliveira
- Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal. .,Integrative Behavioural Biology Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal. .,Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.
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Neuromolecular responses to social challenge: common mechanisms across mouse, stickleback fish, and honey bee. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:17929-34. [PMID: 25453090 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1420369111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Certain complex phenotypes appear repeatedly across diverse species due to processes of evolutionary conservation and convergence. In some contexts like developmental body patterning, there is increased appreciation that common molecular mechanisms underlie common phenotypes; these molecular mechanisms include highly conserved genes and networks that may be modified by lineage-specific mutations. However, the existence of deeply conserved mechanisms for social behaviors has not yet been demonstrated. We used a comparative genomics approach to determine whether shared neuromolecular mechanisms could underlie behavioral response to territory intrusion across species spanning a broad phylogenetic range: house mouse (Mus musculus), stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus), and honey bee (Apis mellifera). Territory intrusion modulated similar brain functional processes in each species, including those associated with hormone-mediated signal transduction and neurodevelopment. Changes in chromosome organization and energy metabolism appear to be core, conserved processes involved in the response to territory intrusion. We also found that several homologous transcription factors that are typically associated with neural development were modulated across all three species, suggesting that shared neuronal effects may involve transcriptional cascades of evolutionarily conserved genes. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analyses of a subset of these transcription factors in mouse again implicated modulation of energy metabolism in the behavioral response. These results provide support for conserved genetic "toolkits" that are used in independent evolutions of the response to social challenge in diverse taxa.
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Stiver KA, Harris RM, Townsend JP, Hofmann HA, Alonzo SH. Neural Gene Expression Profiles and Androgen Levels Underlie Alternative Reproductive Tactics in the Ocellated Wrasse,Symphodus ocellatus. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A. Stiver
- Psychology Department; Southern Connecticut State University; New Haven CT USA
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Yale University; New Haven CT USA
| | - Rayna M. Harris
- Department of Integrative Biology; Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology; Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics; The University of Texas at Austin; Austin TX USA
| | | | - Hans A. Hofmann
- Department of Integrative Biology; Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology; Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics; The University of Texas at Austin; Austin TX USA
| | - Suzanne H. Alonzo
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Yale University; New Haven CT USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Earth and Marine Sciences Building; University of California Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz CA USA
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Hofmann HA, Beery AK, Blumstein DT, Couzin ID, Earley RL, Hayes LD, Hurd PL, Lacey EA, Phelps SM, Solomon NG, Taborsky M, Young LJ, Rubenstein DR. An evolutionary framework for studying mechanisms of social behavior. Trends Ecol Evol 2014; 29:581-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2013] [Revised: 07/13/2014] [Accepted: 07/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Evolutionary themes in the neurobiology of social cognition. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2014; 28:22-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2014.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2014] [Revised: 05/28/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2014] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Abstract
Polarization of light, and visual sensitivity to it, is pervasive across aquatic and terrestrial environments. Documentation of invertebrate use of polarized light is widespread from navigation and foraging to species recognition. However, studies demonstrating that polarization body patterning serves as a communication signal (e.g., with evidence of changes in receiver behavior) are rare among invertebrate taxa and conspicuously absent among vertebrates. Here, we investigate polarization-mediated communication by northern swordtails, Xiphophorus nigrensis, using a custom-built videopolarimeter to measure polarization signals and an experimental paradigm that manipulates polarization signals without modifying their brightness or color. We conducted mate choice trials in an experimental tank that illuminates a pair of males with light passed through a polarization filter and a diffusion filter. By alternating the order of these filters between males, we presented females with live males that differed in polarization reflectance by >200% but with intensity and color differences below detection thresholds (∼5%). Combining videopolarimetry and polarization-manipulated mate choice trials, we found sexually dimorphic polarized reflectance and polarization-dependent female mate choice behavior with no polarization-dependent courtship behavior by males. Male swordtails exhibit greater within-body and body-to-background polarization contrast than females, and females preferentially associate with high-polarization-reflecting males. We also found limited support that males increase polarization contrast in social conditions over asocial conditions. Polarization cues in mate choice contexts may provide aquatic vertebrates with enhanced detection of specific display features (e.g., movements, angular information), as well as a signaling mechanism that may enhance detection by intended viewers while minimizing detection by others.
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Helanterä H, Uller T. Neutral and adaptive explanations for an association between caste-biased gene expression and rate of sequence evolution. Front Genet 2014; 5:297. [PMID: 25221570 PMCID: PMC4148897 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2014] [Accepted: 08/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The castes of social insects provide outstanding opportunities to address the causes and consequences of evolution of discrete phenotypes, i.e., polymorphisms. Here we focus on recently described patterns of a positive association between the degree of caste-specific gene expression and the rate of sequence evolution. We outline how neutral and adaptive evolution can cause genes that are morph-biased in their expression profiles to exhibit historical signatures of faster or slower sequence evolution compared to unbiased genes. We conclude that evaluation of different hypotheses will benefit from (i) reconstruction of the phylogenetic origin of biased expression and changes in rates of sequence evolution, and (ii) replicated data on gene expression variation within versus between morphs. Although the data are limited at present, we suggest that the observed phylogenetic and intra-population variation in gene expression lends support to the hypothesis that the association between caste-biased expression and rate of sequence evolution largely is a result of neutral processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heikki Helanterä
- Department of Biosciences, Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, University of HelsinkiHelsinki, Finland
| | - Tobias Uller
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of OxfordOxford, UK
- Department of Biology, University of LundSölvegatan, Lund, Sweden
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