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Volkova NE, Sheremet OY, Vorobjova LI. Mating behavior in mutant strains of Drosophila melanogaster at different population densities. RUSS J GENET+ 2006. [DOI: 10.1134/s1022795406040053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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102
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Azuma T, Dijkstra JM, Kiryu I, Sekiguchi T, Terada Y, Asahina K, Fischer U, Ototake M. Growth and behavioral traits in Donaldson rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) cosegregate with classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genotype. Behav Genet 2005; 35:463-78. [PMID: 15971027 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-004-0863-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2004] [Accepted: 10/05/2004] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Although polymorphism in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes has been thought to confer populations with protection against widespread decimation by pathogens, this hypothesis cannot explain the type of large allelic diversity in classical MHC class I (Ia) in rainbow trout. Based on expression of Onmy-UBA (MHC class Ia) in trout neurons, we hypothesized that polymorphism in trout class Ia may contribute to polymorphism in behavioral traits. The present study examined whether polymorphism in Onmy-UBA was associated with behavioral variation in Donaldson rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) using experiments on food competition, lure-catch, fright recovery, diel locomotor activity and activity characterized as dominance or aggression. These behavioral traits were investigated in fish having Onmy-UBA*401/*401 or *4901/*4901 homozygous, or Onmy-UBA*401/*4901 heterozygous genotypes (referred to as BB, FF and BF, respectively). The BB fish exhibited boldness, aggression, faster growth and crepuscular activity, while the FF fish showed little boldness, smaller body size, and diurnal activity with no aggressive behavior. The BF fish displayed traits intermediary to those of the BB and FF fish. These results are consistent with polymorphism in a single MHC class Ia locus driving variation in neural circuits, thereby creating behavioral variation in the trout. This is the first study in any animal to show a potential correlation between polymorphism in MHC class Ia genes with polymorphism of behavioral traits such as aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teruo Azuma
- Nikko Branch, National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Chugushi, Nikko, Tochigi, 321-1661, Japan.
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103
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Riedl CAL, Neal SJ, Robichon A, Westwood JT, Sokolowski MB. Drosophila soluble guanylyl cyclase mutants exhibit increased foraging locomotion: behavioral and genomic investigations. Behav Genet 2005; 35:231-44. [PMID: 15864439 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-005-3216-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2004] [Accepted: 02/01/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Genetic variation in the gene foraging (for) is associated with a natural behavioral dimorphism in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Some larvae, called 'rovers', have increased foraging locomotion compared to others, called 'sitters', and this difference is directly related to for-encoded cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) activity. Here we report that larvae with mutations in the gene dgcalpha1, which encodes a soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) subunit, have increases in both PKG activity and foraging locomotion. This is contrary to our original prediction that, based on the role of sGC in the synthesis of cGMP, dgcalpha1 mutant larvae would have deficient cGMP production leading to decreased PKG activation and thus reduced larval foraging locomotion. We performed DNA microarray analyses to compare transcriptional changes induced by a dgcalpha1 mutation in both rover and sitter wildtype genetic backgrounds. In either background, we identified many genes that are differentially transcribed, and interestingly, relatively few are affected in both backgrounds. Furthermore, several of these commonly affected genes are enhanced or suppressed in a background-dependent manner. Thus, genetic background has a critical influence on the molecular effects of this mutation. These findings will support future investigations of Drosophila foraging behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig A L Riedl
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
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104
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105
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Affiliation(s)
- Seema Sisodia
- Genetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
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106
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Godoy-Herrera R, Burnet B, Connolly K. Hybrid disadvantage in the larval foraging behaviour of the two neotropical species of Drosophila pavani and Drosophila gaucha. Genetica 2005; 124:33-40. [PMID: 16011001 DOI: 10.1007/s10709-004-5913-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Flies from two populations of the Chilean endemic neotropical species Drosophila pavani and two populations of its sibling species Drosophila gaucha were crossed reciprocally to obtain intra- and interspecific hybrids. The developmental pathways of locomotor activity and feeding rate were analysed for eleven of twelve possible genotype groups. The hybrids showed reduced fitness indicated by a decrease in the measured traits. Hybrid disadvantage was strongest in interspecific hybrids, especially with respect to feeding behaviour. This evidence supports the contention that D. pavani and D. gaucha have evolved different coadapted gene pools controlling the developmental pathways for behavioural traits expressed during larval foraging; but genetic divergence affecting these behaviours has also taken place between locally adapted populations within each species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raul Godoy-Herrera
- Programa de Genética Humana, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Casilla 70061, Santiago-7, Chile.
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107
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Min VA, Condron BG. An assay of behavioral plasticity in Drosophila larvae. J Neurosci Methods 2005; 145:63-72. [PMID: 15922026 PMCID: PMC2882685 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2004.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2004] [Revised: 11/22/2004] [Accepted: 11/22/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Stress, or threats to homeostasis, is a universal part of life. Organisms face changing and challenging situations everyday, and the ability to respond to such stress is essential for survival. When subjected to acute stress, the body responds molecularly and behaviorally in order to recover a steady state. We developed a simple and robust assay of behavioral plasticity for Drosophila larvae in which well-defined behavioral responses and recovery can be observed and quantified. After experiencing different control and bright light treatments, populations of photophobic fly larvae were placed a defined distance from a food source to which they crawled. Half-times (t(1/2)), or times at which half the total number of larvae reached the food, were used to compare different treatments and larval populations. Repeated control treatments with a main experimental strain gave tight, reproducible t(1/2) ranges. Control treatments with the wild type strains Oregon R and Canton S, the "rover" and "sitter" alleles of the forager locus, and eyeless mutants gave comparable results to those of the experimental strain. Exposure to bright light for a defined time period resulted in a reproducible slowing of locomotion. However, given a defined recovery period, the larvae recover full, normal locomotion. In addition, bright light treatments with Canton S gave comparable results to those of the experimental strain. Eyeless mutants, which are partially blind, do not show a response to bright light treatment. Thus, our assay measures the behavioral responses to bright light in Drosophila larvae and therefore might be useful as a general assay for studying behavioral plasticity and, potentially, adaptation to a stressful stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Barry G. Condron
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 434 243 6794; fax: +1 434 243 5315. (B.G. Condron)
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108
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109
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Affiliation(s)
- Reuven Dukas
- Animal Behavior Group, Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada;
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110
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Zhang B, Lu H, Xi W, Zhou X, Xu S, Zhang K, Jiang J, Li Y, Guo A. Exposure to hypomagnetic field space for multiple generations causes amnesia in Drosophila melanogaster. Neurosci Lett 2004; 371:190-5. [PMID: 15519755 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.08.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2004] [Revised: 08/20/2004] [Accepted: 08/28/2004] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This is the introduction of Drosophila into the study of learning and memory affected by removal of the geomagnetic field (GMF) for successive generations. Using the operant visual learning/memory paradigm at a flight simulator, the present study revealed that wild-type flies raised in a hypomagnetic field environment continuously for 10 successive generations were gradually impaired in visual conditioning learning and memory formation and finally the 10th generation flies became morphs of nonlearners and completely amnesiac. The control experiments show that the impairment could not be ascribed to any apparent sensorimotor problems in Drosophila. The reverse shift from hypomagnetic field (HMF) to natural GMF restored the GMF-free induced amnesia fully after six consecutive generations. Thus, our findings demonstrate conclusively that some serious, but reversible learning and memory impairment may occur for living organisms in a prolonged separation from GMF over many consecutive generations. And Drosophila has the potential to develop into a new model organism for the study of the neurobiology of magnetism for multiple generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhang
- Laboratory of Visual Information Processing, Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, CAS, 15 Datum Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
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111
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Sih A, Bell AM, Johnson JC, Ziemba RE. Behavioral Syndromes: An Integrative Overview. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2004; 79:241-77. [PMID: 15529965 DOI: 10.1086/422893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1264] [Impact Index Per Article: 63.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
A behavioral syndrome is a suite of correlated behaviors expressed either within a given behavioral context (e.g., correlations between foraging behaviors in different habitats) or across different contexts (e.g., correlations among feeding, antipredator, mating, aggressive, and dispersal behaviors). For example, some individuals (and genotypes) might be generally more aggressive, more active or bold, while others are generally less aggressive, active or bold. This phenomenon has been studied in detail in humans, some primates, laboratory rodents, and some domesticated animals, but has rarely been studied in other organisms, and rarely examined from an evolutionary or ecological perspective. Here, we present an integrative overview on the potential importance of behavioral syndromes in evolution and ecology. A central idea is that behavioral correlations generate tradeoffs; for example, an aggressive genotype might do well in situations where high aggression is favored, but might be inappropriately aggressive in situations where low aggression is favored (and vice versa for a low aggression genotype). Behavioral syndromes can thereby result in maladaptive behavior in some contexts, and potentially maintain individual variation in behavior in a variable environment. We suggest terminology and methods for studying behavioral syndromes, review examples, discuss evolutionary and proximate approaches for understanding behavioral syndromes, note insights from human personality research, and outline some potentially important ecological implications. Overall, we suggest that behavioral syndromes could play a useful role as an integrative bridge between genetics, experience, neuroendocrine mechanisms, evolution, and ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis 95616, USA.
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112
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Scheiner R, Sokolowski MB, Erber J. Activity of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) affects sucrose responsiveness and habituation in Drosophila melanogaster. Learn Mem 2004; 11:303-11. [PMID: 15169860 PMCID: PMC419733 DOI: 10.1101/lm.71604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) has many cellular functions in vertebrates and insects that affect complex behaviors such as locomotion and foraging. The foraging (for) gene encodes a PKG in Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we demonstrate a function for the for gene in sensory responsiveness and nonassociative learning. Larvae of the natural variant sitter (for(s)) show less locomotor activity during feeding and have a lower PKG activity than rover (for(R)) larvae. We used rover and sitter adult flies to test whether PKG activity affects (1) responsiveness to sucrose stimuli applied to the front tarsi, and (2) habituation of proboscis extension after repeated sucrose stimulation. To determine whether the differences observed resulted from variation in the for gene, we also tested for(s2), a sitter mutant produced on a rover genetic background. We found that rovers (for(R)) were more responsive to sucrose than sitters (for(s) and for(s2)) at 1-, 2-, and 3-wk old. This was true for both sexes. Differences in sucrose responsiveness between rovers and sitters were greater after 2 h of food deprivation than after 24 h. Of flies with similar sucrose responsiveness, for(R) rovers showed less habituation and generalization of habituation than for(s) and for(s2) sitters. These results show that the PKG encoded by for independently affects sensory responsiveness and habituation in Drosophila melanogaster.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricarda Scheiner
- Institut für Okologie, Technische Universität Berlin, Franklinstr. 28/29, D-10587 Berlin, Germany.
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113
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Tinette S, Zhang L, Robichon A. Cooperation between Drosophila flies in searching behavior. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2004; 3:39-50. [PMID: 14960014 DOI: 10.1046/j.1601-183x.2003.0046.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In Drosophila melanogaster food search behaviour, groups of flies swarm around and aggregate on patches of food. We wondered whether flies explore their environment in a cooperative way as interactions between individual flies within a population might influence the flies' ability to locate food sources. We have shown that the food search behavior in the fruit fly Drosophila is a two-step process. Firstly, 'primer' flies search the environment and randomly land on different food patches. Secondly, the remaining group of flies move to the most favorable food source and aggregate there. We call this a 'search-aggregation' cycle. Our data demonstrate that flies do not individually assess all available food resources. Rather, social interactions between flies appear to affect their choice of a specific food patch. A genetic analysis of this 'search-aggregation' behavior shows that flies carrying mutations in specific genes (for example, the dunce (dnc) gene which codes for a phosphodiesterase) were defective in this search-aggregation behavior when compared to normal flies. Future investigations of the neuronal signaling involved in this behavior will help us to understand the complexities of this aspect of Drosophila social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Tinette
- CNRS Centre Européen des Sciences du Goût, rue Hugues Picardet, Dijon, France
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114
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Prasad NG, Joshi A. What have two decades of laboratory life-history evolution studies on Drosophila melanogaster taught us? J Genet 2004; 82:45-76. [PMID: 14631102 DOI: 10.1007/bf02715881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
A series of laboratory selection experiments on Drosophila melanogaster over the past two decades has provided insights into the specifics of life-history tradeoffs in the species and greatly refined our understanding of how ecology and genetics interact in life-history evolution. Much of what has been learnt from these studies about the subtlety of the microevolutionary process also has significant implications for experimental design and inference in organismal biology beyond life-history evolution, as well as for studies of evolution in the wild. Here we review work on the ecology and evolution of life-histories in laboratory populations of D. melanogaster, emphasizing how environmental effects on life-history-related traits can influence evolutionary change. We discuss life-history tradeoffs - many unexpected - revealed by selection experiments, and also highlight recent work that underscores the importance to life-history evolution of cross-generation and cross-life-stage effects and interactions, sexual antagonism and sexual dimorphism, population dynamics, and the possible role of biological clocks in timing life-history events. Finally, we discuss some of the limitations of typical selection experiments, and how these limitations might be transcended in the future by a combination of more elaborate and realistic selection experiments, developmental evolutionary biology, and the emerging discipline of phenomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- N G Prasad
- Evolutionary Biology Laboratory, Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, P.O. Box 6436, Jakkur, Bangalore 560 064, India
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115
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Godoy-Herrera R, Burnet B, Connolly K. Conservation and divergence of the genetic structure of larval foraging behaviour in two species of the Drosophila simulans clade. Heredity (Edinb) 2003; 92:14-9. [PMID: 14508499 DOI: 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Larvae of the sibling species Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana have rates of locomotor and feeding activity that are closely similar. Comparisons of the trait means for intra- and interspecific hybrids show that significant epistatic interactions affect both characters when the genomes of the two species are combined. The phenotypic variances of progenies obtained by backcrossing the interspecific hybrids to their respective parent species show that appreciable genetic turnover affecting foraging behaviour has occurred since their two phylogenetic lines diverged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Godoy-Herrera
- Programa de Genética Humana, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Casilla 70061, Santiago-7, Chile.
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116
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Andow DA, Olson DM. Inheritance of host finding ability on structurally complex surfaces. Oecologia 2003; 136:324-8. [PMID: 12700975 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-003-1262-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2002] [Accepted: 03/20/2003] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The connectivity of a surface (structural complexity) can have a significant effect on the host finding behavior and efficiency of parasitoids that must search the surface for hosts. We investigated whether the generalist egg parasitoid, Trichogramma nubilale Ertle and Davis (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), found hosts more efficiently on simple or complex surfaces, and evaluated the potential genetic basis of this variation using a full-sib/ half-sib mating design. Of the egg masses parasitized 63.8% were on the simple surface while only 36.2% were on the complex surface. There was significant repeatable variation among females (repeatability =0.59, n=19 females), with some better at finding hosts on simple surfaces and others better on complex surfaces. These results reinforce previous findings that structural complexity can affect host finding by parasitoids. The additive genetic variance in this character was not significant (sires =23, dams =46, progeny =92), but the maternal plus dominance variance ( V(m)+1/2 V(d)) was significant (P<0.036), and accounted for 48.8% of the total phenotypic variance. The maternal or dominance effects could have complex evolutionary consequences, causing the evolution of other foraging traits to be retarded, to overshoot their optima, or to have complex selective regimes. Thus, the evolution of foraging behavior may depend strongly on the mechanistic details of foraging behavior, including the effects of structural complexity on host finding.
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Affiliation(s)
- D A Andow
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 219 Hodson Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
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117
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Skalski GT, Gilliam JF. A diffusion-based theory of organism dispersal in heterogeneous populations. Am Nat 2003; 161:441-58. [PMID: 12699223 DOI: 10.1086/367592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
We develop a general theory of organism movement in heterogeneous populations that can explain the leptokurtic movement distributions commonly measured in nature. We describe population heterogeneity in a state-structured framework, employing advection-diffusion as the fundamental movement process of individuals occupying different movement states. Our general analysis shows that population heterogeneity in movement behavior can be defined as the existence of different movement states and among-individual variability in the time individuals spend in these states. A presentation of moment-based metrics of movement illustrates the role of these attributes in general dispersal processes. We also present a special case of the general theory: a model population composed of individuals occupying one of two movement states with linear transitions, or exchange, between the two states. This two-state "exchange model" can be viewed as a correlated random walk and provides a generalization of the telegraph equation. By exploiting the main result of our general analysis, we characterize the exchange model by deriving moment-based metrics of its movement process and identifying an analytical representation of the model's time-dependent solution. Our results provide general and specific theoretical explanations for empirical patterns in organism movement; the results also provide conceptual and analytical bases for extending diffusion-based dispersal theory in several directions, thereby facilitating mechanistic links between individual behavior and spatial population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garrick T Skalski
- Program in Biomathematics and Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7617, USA.
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118
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Robinson GE, Ben-Shahar Y. Social behavior and comparative genomics: new genes or new gene regulation? GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2002; 1:197-203. [PMID: 12882364 DOI: 10.1034/j.1601-183x.2002.10401.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Molecular analyses of social behavior are distinguished by the use of an unusually broad array of animal models. This is advantageous for a number of reasons, including the opportunity for comparative genomic analyses that address fundamental issues in the molecular biology of social behavior. One issue relates to the kinds of changes in genome structure and function that occur to give rise to social behavior. This paper considers one aspect of this issue, whether social evolution involves new genes, new gene regulation, or both. This is accomplished by briefly reviewing findings from studies of the fish Haplochromis burtoni, the vole Microtus ochrogaster, and the honey bee Apis mellifera, with a more detailed and prospective consideration of the honey bee.
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Affiliation(s)
- G E Robinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana 61801, USA.
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119
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120
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Abstract
A quantitative genetic study revealed genetic and environmental sources of variance in percentage parasitism of European corn borer egg masses and secondary sex ratios by Trichogramma nubilale. Full and half-sib groups of T. nubilale were obtained from a nested mating design, which permitted the partitioning of the variance of T. nubilale parasitism of European corn borer egg masses into additive genetic variance, maternal/dominant variance and environmental variance. A mother-daughter regression of the percentage of an egg mass parasitized allowed a determination of the direction of a potential response to selection in the event of maternal effects. No or very little additive genetic effects were associated with the percentage of eggs within a mass parasitized and secondary sex ratios, but a significant amount of the variance for both traits had a maternal and/or dominant genetic source. The relationship between mothers and daughters in egg mass parasitism was positive, and 55.4% of the progeny of a given mother had behaviors that resemble their mother. Most of the variance had an environmental and/or unknown genetic source implying potentially high phenotypic plasticity associated with all these traits. The presence of maternal effects and phenotypic plasticity could have multiple and complex effects on progeny characters and potential responses to selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Olson
- Center for Community Genetics and Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6125, USA.
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121
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Ben-Shahar Y, Robichon A, Sokolowski MB, Robinson GE. Influence of gene action across different time scales on behavior. Science 2002; 296:741-4. [PMID: 11976457 DOI: 10.1126/science.1069911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 341] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Genes can affect natural behavioral variation in different ways. Allelic variation causes alternative behavioral phenotypes, whereas changes in gene expression can influence the initiation of behavior at different ages. We show that the age-related transition by honey bees from hive work to foraging is associated with an increase in the expression of the foraging (for) gene, which encodes a guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG). cGMP treatment elevated PKG activity and caused foraging behavior. Previous research showed that allelic differences in PKG expression result in two Drosophila foraging variants. The same gene can thus exert different types of influence on a behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Ben-Shahar
- Department of Entomology, Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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122
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Foley PA, Luckinbill LS. The effects of selection for larval behavior on adult life-history features in Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution 2001; 55:2493-502. [PMID: 11831665 DOI: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb00764.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Selection for late-life fecundity and longevity in adult Drosophila melanogaster is well known to modify numerous characteristics of life history and physiology. We report experiments here in which selection applied to behavior affects features in an identical fashion. Selection for feeding rate of larval D. melanogaster modifies caloric intake, as measured by the uptake and incorporation of labeled glucose. Selection for slow larval feeding produced lines of D. melanogaster in which larvae synthesized significantly less lipid prior to pupation and eclosed to have low early-life fecundity and a long life as adults. They also had greater lifetime fecundity, but lower viability of egg to hatched adult. Alternatively, fast-feeding larvae incorporated more lipid before pupation and eclosed with high early-fecundity that declined rapidly throughout their short adult life. Slow-feeding populations also had a significantly enhanced expression of the stress-resistance genes CuZn-SOD, CATALASE, and HSP70. Selection on larval feeding behavior reproduced the antagonistic evolutionary trade-off found under selection for adult life span and mimicked the physiological response in life span as seen in many species when dietary restriction is imposed on adults. Thus, nutrient acquisition during development appears to share a common evolutionary and genetic basis with the allocation processes that determine adult life-history traits and the related phenotypic dietary restriction phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A Foley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA
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123
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Borash DJ, Ho GT. Patterns of selection: stress resistance and energy storage in density-dependent populations of Drosophila melanogaster. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2001; 47:1349-1356. [PMID: 12770141 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-1910(01)00108-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Populations of Drosophila melanogaster subjected to extreme larval (CU) or adult (UC) densities for multiple generations were assayed for a variety of life history characters. When reared under either crowded or uncrowded larval conditions, populations which had been selected to tolerate the limitation of resources imposed by extreme larval (CU) crowding, exhibited greater starvation resistance and lipid content than did populations which do not routinely undergo larval density-dependent regulation. Previous studies have shown that the CU populations do not show a correlated increase in longevity; as has been generally observed for these characteristics in age-structured populations of D. melanogaster. This suggests that density-dependent natural selection may not always shape life histories of the same characteristic in the same direction that age-specific selection does.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J. Borash
- Department of System Sciences - Biology, University of Tokyo (Komaba Campus), Meguro-ku, 153-8902, Tokyo, Japan
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124
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Abstract
Genes are understandably crucial to physiology, morphology and biochemistry, but the idea of genes contributing to individual differences in behaviour once seemed outrageous. Nevertheless, some scientists have aspired to understand the relationship between genes and behaviour, and their research has become increasingly informative and productive over the past several decades. At the forefront of behavioural genetics research is the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, which has provided us with important insights into the molecular, cellular and evolutionary bases of behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- M B Sokolowski
- Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 1C6.
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125
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Fraser DF, Gilliam JF, Daley MJ, Le AN, Skalski GT. Explaining Leptokurtic Movement Distributions: Intrapopulation Variation in Boldness and Exploration. Am Nat 2001; 158:124-35. [PMID: 18707341 DOI: 10.1086/321307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 364] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D F Fraser
- Department of Biology, Siena College, Loudonville, New York 12211, USA.
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126
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Joshi A, Prasad NG, Shakarad M. K-selection, alpha-selection, effectiveness, and tolerance in competition: density-dependent selection revisited. J Genet 2001; 80:63-75. [PMID: 11910126 DOI: 10.1007/bf02728332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
In the Drosophila literature, selection for faster development and selection for adapting to high density are often confounded, leading, for example, to the expectation that selection for faster development should also lead to higher competitive ability. At the same time, results from experimental studies on evolution at high density do not agree with many of the predictions from classical density-dependent selection theory. We put together a number of theoretical and empirical results from the literature, and some new experimental results on Drosophila populations successfully subjected to selection for faster development, to argue for a broader interpretation of density-dependent selection. We show that incorporating notions of alpha-selection, and the division of competitive ability into effectiveness and tolerance components, into the concept of density-dependent selection yields a formulation that allows for a better understanding of the empirical results. We also use this broader formulation to predict that selection for faster development in Drosophila should, in fact, lead to the correlated evolution of decreased competitive ability, even though it does lead to the evolution of greater efficiency and higher population growth rates at high density when in monotypic culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Joshi
- Evolutionary Biology Laboratory, Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, P.O. Box No. 6436, Jakkur, Bangalore 560 064, India.
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127
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Prasad NG, Shakarad M, Anitha D, Rajamani M, Joshi A. Correlated responses to selection for faster development and early reproduction in Drosophila: the evolution of larval traits. Evolution 2001; 55:1363-72. [PMID: 11525460 DOI: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb00658.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Studies on selection for faster development in Drosophila have typically focused on the trade-offs among development time, adult weight, and adult life span. Relatively less attention has been paid to the evolution of preadult life stages and behaviors in response to such selection. We have earlier reported that four laboratory populations of D. melanogaster selected for faster development and early reproduction, relative to control populations, showed considerably reduced preadult development time and survivorship, dry weight at eclosion, and larval growth rates. Here we study the larval phase of these populations in greater detail. We show here that the reduction in development time after about 50 generations of selection is due to reduced duration of the first and third larval instars and the pupal stage, whereas the duration of the second larval instar has not changed. About 90% of the preadult mortality in the selected populations is due to larval mortality. The third instar larvae, pupae, and freshly eclosed adults of the selected populations weigh significantly less than controls, and this difference appears during the third larval instar. Thereafter, percentage weight loss during the pupal stage does not differ between selected and control populations. The minimum amount of time a larva must feed to subsequently complete development is lower in the selected populations, which also exhibit a syndrome of reduced energy expenditure through reduction in larval feeding rate, larval digging and foraging activity, and pupation height. Comparison of these results with those observed earlier in populations selected for adaptation to larval crowding and faster development under a different protocol from ours reveal differences in the evolved traits that suggest that the responses to selection for faster development are greatly affected by the larval density at which selection acts and on details of the selection pressures acting on the timing of reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- N G Prasad
- Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore, India
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128
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Giray T, Luyten YA, MacPherson M, Stevens L. Physiological bases of genetic differences in cannibalism behavior of the confused flour beetle Tribolium confusum. Evolution 2001; 55:797-806. [PMID: 11392397 DOI: 10.1554/0014-3820(2001)055[0797:pbogdi]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Physiological causes of genetic differences in cannibalism were examined to gain a better understanding of constraints on behavior evolution. Cannibalism has complex population level consequences in Tribolium confusum, including dramatic effects on population size. Laboratory strains with low and high cannibalism rates, obtained through inbreeding, have maintained distinct levels of cannibalism for over two decades even in the absence of artificial selection to maintain the differences. Why strains differ in their cannibalism rates was examined by measuring: (1) the nutritional benefit from cannibalism in both nutritionally good and poor environments, and (2) the possibility that eggs are an important source of water. How strains achieve differences in cannibalism was examined by testing for differences between strains in their ability to find eggs and in their tendency to eat eggs. Beetles from both strains survive equally well in a nutritionally good environment, but they accomplish this in different ways. The low cannibalism strain has high survivorship with and without cannibalism. The high cannibalism strain has low survivorship when not fed eggs and survivorship equivalent to the low cannibalism strain when fed eggs, suggesting it compensates for poor nutritional adaptation by eating eggs. The strains also differ in feeding behavior; beetles from the high cannibalism strain have a higher appetite for eggs. Beetles from the two strains did not differ in locomotor activity, search efficiency, or need for water. The observed behavioral and nutritional differences may contribute to the maintenance of different levels of cannibalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Giray
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington 05405, USA.
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129
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130
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Prasad NG, Shakarad M, Anitha D, Rajamani M, Joshi A. CORRELATED RESPONSES TO SELECTION FOR FASTER DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY REPRODUCTION IN DROSOPHILA: THE EVOLUTION OF LARVAL TRAITS. Evolution 2001. [DOI: 10.1554/0014-3820(2001)055[1363:crtsff]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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131
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Lowe SE, Bradshaw JWS. Ontogeny of individuality in the domestic cat in the home environment. Anim Behav 2001; 61:231-237. [PMID: 11170712 DOI: 10.1006/anbe.2000.1545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The behaviour of house cats Felis silvestris catus from nine litters was recorded at 4 months, 1 year and 2 years of age, in their home environment immediately after meals fed by their owners. We extracted by principal components analysis four elements of 'behavioural style' that were consistent from one age to another: based upon behaviour patterns that were most heavily loaded on each component, these were labelled as Staying Indoors, Rubbing, Investigative and Boldness elements. The Staying Indoors and Rubbing elements are similar to two aspects of behavioural style identified in a previous study of adult cats; the Boldness element, possibly coupled with the Investigative element, may be similar to the shy/bold continuum identified in controlled studies of cats and other species. Four-month-old male cats were the most likely to Stay Indoors; the Rubbing element increased with age in the majority of individuals, both male and female. Littermates tended to be similar to one another in Rubbing (at 4 months) and Boldness (up to 1 year). A positive effect of handling received during the first 8 weeks of life was detected for Boldness at 4 months of age. Copyright 2001 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
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132
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Foley PA, Luckinbill LS. THE EFFECTS OF SELECTION FOR LARVAL BEHAVIOR ON ADULT LIFE-HISTORY FEATURES IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. Evolution 2001. [DOI: 10.1554/0014-3820(2001)055[2493:teosfl]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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133
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Engel JE, Xie XJ, Sokolowski MB, Wu CF. A cGMP-dependent protein kinase gene, foraging, modifies habituation-like response decrement of the giant fiber escape circuit in Drosophila. Learn Mem 2000; 7:341-52. [PMID: 11040266 PMCID: PMC311339 DOI: 10.1101/lm.31600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The Drosophila giant fiber jump-and-flight escape response is a model for genetic analysis of both the physiology and the plasticity of a sensorimotor behavioral pathway. We previously established the electrically induced giant fiber response in intact tethered flies as a model for habituation, a form of nonassociative learning. Here, we show that the rate of stimulus-dependent response decrement of this neural pathway in a habituation protocol is correlated with PKG (cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase) activity and foraging behavior. We assayed response decrement for natural and mutant rover and sitter alleles of the foraging (for) gene that encodes a Drosophila PKG. Rover larvae and adults, which have higher PKG activities, travel significantly farther while foraging than sitters with lower PKG activities. Response decrement was most rapid in genotypes previously shown to have low PKG activities and sitter-like foraging behavior. We also found differences in spontaneous recovery (the reversal of response decrement during a rest from stimulation) and a dishabituation-like phenomenon (the reversal of response decrement evoked by a novel stimulus). This electrophysiological study in an intact animal preparation provides one of the first direct demonstrations that PKG can affect plasticity in a simple learning paradigm. It increases our understanding of the complex interplay of factors that can modulate the sensitivity of the giant fiber escape response, and it defines a new adult-stage phenotype of the foraging locus. Finally, these results show that behaviorally relevant neural plasticity in an identified circuit can be influenced by a single-locus genetic polymorphism existing in a natural population of Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- J E Engel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1324, USA.
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134
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Yang P, Shaver SA, Hilliker AJ, Sokolowski MB. Abnormal turning behavior in Drosophila larvae. Identification and molecular analysis of scribbler (sbb). Genetics 2000; 155:1161-74. [PMID: 10880478 PMCID: PMC1461145 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/155.3.1161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Our genetic dissection of behavior has isolated scribbler (sbb), a vital gene that encodes a novel protein expressed in the embryonic and larval nervous systems and in the imaginal discs. Larvae with mutations in sbb exhibit abnormally high amounts of turning behavior in the absence of food. sbb is a large gene spanning >50 kb of genomic DNA with four major developmentally regulated transcripts. Transgenic rescue of scribbler behavior was demonstrated by targeting expression of a normal sbb transgene (sbb(+)) expressing one of the major transcripts to the nervous system. The vital function of sbb was restored by ubiquitous expression of this transgene throughout development.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Yang
- Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
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135
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136
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137
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Wilson WG, Richards SA. Evolutionarily Stable Strategies for Consuming a Structured Resource. Am Nat 2000; 155:83-100. [PMID: 10657179 DOI: 10.1086/303297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
A general consumer-resource model assuming discrete consumers and a continuously structured resource is examined. We study two foraging behaviors, which lead to fixed and flexible patch residence times, in conjunction with a simple consumer energetics model linking resource consumption, foraging behavior, and metabolic costs. Results indicate a single, evolutionarily stable foraging strategy for fixed and flexible foraging in a nonspatial environment, but flexible foraging in a spatial environment leads to consumer grouping, which affects the resource distribution such that no single foraging strategy can exclude all other strategies. This evolutionarily stable coexistence of multiple foraging strategies may help explain a dichotomous pattern observed in a wide variety of natural systems.
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138
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Abstract
As traditional behavioral genetics analysis merges with neurogenetics, the field of neurobehavioral genetics, focusing on single-gene effects, comes into being. New biotechnology has greatly accelerated gene discovery and the study of gene function in relation to brain and behavior. More than 7,000 genes in mice and 10,000 in humans have now been documented, and extensive information about the genetics of several species is readily available on the World Wide Web. Based on knowledge of the DNA sequence of a gene, a targeted mutation with the capacity to disable it can be created. These knockouts--also called null mutants--are employed in the study of a wide range of phenotypes, including learning and memory, appetite and obesity, and circadian rhythms. The era of examining single-gene effects from a reductionistic perspective is waning, and research with interacting arrays of genes in various environmental contexts is demonstrating a need for systems-oriented theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Wahlsten
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
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139
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Affiliation(s)
- J H Thomas
- Department of Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA
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140
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de Bono M, Bargmann CI. Natural variation in a neuropeptide Y receptor homolog modifies social behavior and food response in C. elegans. Cell 1998; 94:679-89. [PMID: 9741632 DOI: 10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81609-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 537] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Natural isolates of C. elegans exhibit either solitary or social feeding behavior. Solitary foragers move slowly on a bacterial lawn and disperse across it, while social foragers move rapidly on bacteria and aggregate together. A loss-of-function mutation in the npr-1 gene, which encodes a predicted G protein-coupled receptor similar to neuropeptide Y receptors, causes a solitary strain to take on social behavior. Two isoforms of NPR-1 that differ at a single residue occur in the wild. One isoform, NPR-1 215F, is found exclusively in social strains, while the other isoform, NPR-1 215V, is found exclusively in solitary strains. An NPR-1 215V transgene can induce solitary feeding behavior in a wild social strain. Thus, isoforms of a putative neuropeptide receptor generate natural variation in C. elegans feeding behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- M de Bono
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Anatomy, The University of California, San Francisco 94143-0452, USA
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141
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Affiliation(s)
- M B Sokolowski
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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142
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Abstract
Fruit fly larvae occur as either 'rovers', which move a long way to find food, or 'sitters', which stay within a more restricted area. This polymorphism is determined by alleles of a cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase gene; rovers are at an advantage in crowded populations, while sitters have the edge at low population density.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Partridge
- Galton Laboratory, Department of Biology, University College London, Wolfson House, 4 Stephenson Way, London, NW1 2HE, UK
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143
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Greenspan RJ. A kinder, gentler genetic analysis of behavior: dissection gives way to modulation. Curr Opin Neurobiol 1997; 7:805-11. [PMID: 9464983 DOI: 10.1016/s0959-4388(97)80139-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Many of the mutations and genetic variants that affect behavior in Drosophila have proved to be mild lesions of genes that are capable of more severe phenotypes. Examples of such variants affecting ion channels, transcription factors and protein kinases in studies of courtship and learning have anticipated recent findings on the naturally occurring variants in circadian rhythms and foraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Greenspan
- Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, California 92121, USA
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144
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Abstract
The development of theory on density-dependent natural selection has seen a transition from very general, logistic growth-based models to theories that incorporate details of specific life histories. This transition has been justified by the need to make predictions that can then be tested experimentally with specific model systems like bacteria or Drosophila. The most general models predict that natural selection should increase density-dependent rates of population growth. When trade-offs exist, those genotypes favored in low-density environments will show reduced per capita growth rates under crowded conditions and vice versa for evolution in crowded environments. This central prediction has been verified twice in carefully controlled experiments with Drosophila. Empirical research in this field has also witnessed a major transition from field-based observations and conjecture to carefully controlled laboratory selection experiments. This change in approach has permitted crucial tests of theories of density-dependent natural selection and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of adaptation to different levels of population crowding. Experimental research with Drosophila has identified several phenotypes important to adaptation, especially at high larval densities. This same research revealed that an important trade-off occurs between competitive ability and energetic efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence D. Mueller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-2525
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145
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Osborne KA, Robichon A, Burgess E, Butland S, Shaw RA, Coulthard A, Pereira HS, Greenspan RJ, Sokolowski MB. Natural behavior polymorphism due to a cGMP-dependent protein kinase of Drosophila. Science 1997; 277:834-6. [PMID: 9242616 DOI: 10.1126/science.277.5327.834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 385] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Naturally occuring polymorphisms in behavior are difficult to map genetically and thus are refractory to molecular characterization. An exception is the foraging gene (for), a gene that has two naturally occurring variants in Drosophila melanogaster food-search behavior: rover and sitter. Molecular mapping placed for mutations in the dg2 gene, which encodes a cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG). Rovers had higher PKG activity than sitters, and transgenic sitters expressing a dg2 complementary DNA from rover showed transformation of behavior to rover. Thus, PKG levels affected food-search behavior, and natural variation in PKG activity accounted for a behavioral polymorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Osborne
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3J 1P3
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