1
|
Differential Gene Expression Correlates with Behavioural Polymorphism during Collective Behaviour in Cockroaches. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12182354. [PMID: 36139214 PMCID: PMC9495117 DOI: 10.3390/ani12182354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary It is currently well accepted that animals differ from one another in their behaviour and tendency to perform actions, a property we refer to as animal personality. In group-living animals, variation in animal personality can be important to determine group survival, as it determines how individuals interact with each other and with their environment. However, we have little knowledge of the proximal mechanisms underlying personality, particularly in group-living organisms. Here, we investigate the relationship between gene expression and two behavioural types (bold and shy) in a gregarious species: the American cockroach. Our results show that bold individuals have upregulated genes with functions associated with sensory activity (phototaxis and odour detection) and aggressive/dominant behaviour, and suggest that social context can modulate gene expression related to bold/shy characteristics. This work could help identify genes important in the earliest stages of group living and social life, and provides a first step toward establishing cockroaches as a focal group for the study of the evolution of sociality. Abstract Consistent inter-individual variation in the propensity to perform different tasks (animal personality) can contribute significantly to the success of group-living organisms. The distribution of different personalities in a group influences collective actions and therefore how these organisms interact with their environment. However, we have little understanding of the proximate mechanisms underlying animal personality in animal groups, and research on this theme has often been biased towards organisms with advanced social systems. The goal of this study is to investigate the mechanistic basis for personality variation during collective behaviour in a species with rudimentary societies: the American cockroach. We thus use an approach which combines experimental classification of individuals into behavioural phenotypes (‘bold’ and ‘shy’ individuals) with comparative gene expression. Our analyses reveal differences in gene expression between behavioural phenotypes and suggest that social context may modulate gene expression related to bold/shy characteristics. We also discuss how cockroaches could be a valuable model for the study of genetic mechanisms underlying the early steps in the evolution of social behaviour and social complexity. This study provides a first step towards a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with differences in boldness and behavioural plasticity in these organisms.
Collapse
|
2
|
McMahon EK, Youatt E, Cavigelli SA. A physiological profile approach to animal temperament: How to understand the functional significance of individual differences in behaviour. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212379. [PMID: 35016542 PMCID: PMC8753167 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal behaviour research has experienced a renewed interest in consistent individual differences (i.e. animal personality or temperament). Recent ecological studies have identified environmental conditions that give rise to the development and evolution of temperaments and to fitness-related outcomes of temperament. Additional literature has also described relationships between temperaments and physiological regulation. However, one-to-one relationships between one behavioural trait and one physiological system do not account for co-selection of behavioural and physiological traits, nor the complex signalling among physiological systems. In the current paper, we review the literature on multiple physiological processes associated with temperament, propose temperament-specific physiological profiles, and focus on next steps to understand the functional significance, evolution and maintenance of temperaments. We propose that to understand causes and consequences of temperament we need to characterize integrative physiological profiles associated with different temperaments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elyse K McMahon
- Ecology Graduate Program, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 101 Life Sciences Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.,Biobehavioral Health Department, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Elizabeth Youatt
- Psychology Department, Pennsylvania State University, 140 Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Sonia A Cavigelli
- Biobehavioral Health Department, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
McMahon EK, Cavigelli SA. Gaps to Address in Ecological Studies of Temperament and Physiology. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:1917-1932. [PMID: 34097030 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecology is a diverse field with many researchers interested in drivers and consequences of variability within populations. Two aspects of variability that have been addressed are behavioral and physiological. While these have been shown to separately influence ecological outcomes such as survival, reproductive success and fitness, combined they could better predict within-population variability in survival and fitness. Recently there has been a focus on potential fitness outcomes of consistent behavioral traits that are referred to as personality or temperament (e.g. boldness, sociability, exploration, etc.). Given this recent focus, it is an optimal time to identify areas to supplement in this field, particularly in determining the relationship between temperament and physiological traits. To maximize progress, in this perspective paper we propose that the following two areas be addressed: (1) increased diversity of species, and (2) increased number of physiological processes studied, with an eye toward using more representative and relatively consistent measures across studies. We first highlight information that has been gleaned from species that are frequently studied to determine how animal personality relates to physiology and/or survival/fitness. We then shine a spotlight on important taxa that have been understudied and that can contribute meaningful, complementary information to this area of research. And last, we propose a brief array of physiological processes to relate to temperament, and that can significantly impact fitness, and that may be accessible in field studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elyse K McMahon
- Ecology Graduate Program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.,Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.,Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Sonia A Cavigelli
- Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.,Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Genomics for conservation: a case study of behavioral genes in the Tasmanian devil. CONSERV GENET 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-021-01354-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
5
|
Rey S, Jin X, Damsgård B, Bégout ML, Mackenzie S. Analysis across diverse fish species highlights no conserved transcriptome signature for proactive behaviour. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:33. [PMID: 33413108 PMCID: PMC7792025 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-07317-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Consistent individual differences in behaviour, known as animal personalities, have been demonstrated within and across species. In fish, studies applying an animal personality approach have been used to resolve variation in physiological and molecular data suggesting a linkage, genotype-phenotype, between behaviour and transcriptome regulation. In this study, using three fish species (zebrafish; Danio rerio, Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar and European sea bass; Dicentrarchus labrax), we firstly address whether personality-specific mRNA transcript abundances are transferrable across distantly-related fish species and secondly whether a proactive transcriptome signature is conserved across all three species. Results Previous zebrafish transcriptome data was used as a foundation to produce a curated list of mRNA transcripts related to animal personality across all three species. mRNA transcript copy numbers for selected gene targets show that differential mRNA transcript abundance in the brain appears to be partially conserved across species relative to personality type. Secondly, we performed RNA-Seq using whole brains from S. salar and D. labrax scoring positively for both behavioural and molecular assays for proactive behaviour. We further enriched this dataset by incorporating a zebrafish brain transcriptome dataset specific to the proactive phenotype. Our results indicate that cross-species molecular signatures related to proactive behaviour are functionally conserved where shared functional pathways suggest that evolutionary convergence may be more important than individual mRNAs. Conclusions Our data supports the proposition that highly polygenic clusters of genes, with small additive effects, likely support the underpinning molecular variation related to the animal personalities in the fish used in this study. The polygenic nature of the proactive brain transcriptome across all three species questions the existence of specific molecular signatures for proactive behaviour, at least at the granularity of specific regulatory gene modules, level of genes, gene networks and molecular functions. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-020-07317-z.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Rey
- Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirlingshire, FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Xingkun Jin
- Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirlingshire, FK9 4LA, UK.,Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, NO-0316, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Marine Biology, College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Børge Damsgård
- Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Simon Mackenzie
- Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirlingshire, FK9 4LA, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Montag C, Ebstein RP, Jawinski P, Markett S. Molecular genetics in psychology and personality neuroscience: On candidate genes, genome wide scans, and new research strategies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:163-174. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
|
7
|
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.
Collapse
|
8
|
Bubac CM, Miller JM, Coltman DW. The genetic basis of animal behavioural diversity in natural populations. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:1957-1971. [PMID: 32374914 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Individual differences in animal behaviour influence ecological and evolutionary processes. Much behavioural variation has a heritable component, suggesting that genetics may play a role in its development. Yet, the study of the mechanistic description linking genes to behaviour in nature remains in its infancy, and such research is considered a challenge in contemporary biology. Here, we performed a literature review and meta-analysis to assess trends in analytical approaches used to investigate the relationship between genes and behaviour in natural systems, specifically candidate gene approaches, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We aimed to determine the efficacy and success of each approach, while also describing which behaviours and species were examined by researchers most often. We found that the majority of QTL mapping and GWAS results revealed a significant or suggestive effect (Zr = 0.3 [95% CI: 0.25:0.35] and Zr = 0.39 [0.33:0.46], respectively) between the trait of interest and genetic marker(s) tested, while over half of candidate gene accounts (Zr = 0.16 [0.11:0.21]) did not find a significant association. Approximately a third of all study estimates investigated animal personality traits; though, reproductive and migratory behaviours were also well-represented. Our findings show that despite widespread accessibility of molecular approaches given current sequencing technologies, efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of behaviour in free-ranging systems has been limited to relatively few species. We discuss challenges encountered by researchers, and recommend integration of novel genomic methods with longitudinal studies to usher in the next wave of behavioural genomic research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christine M Bubac
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Joshua M Miller
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - David W Coltman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Jacquin L, Petitjean Q, Côte J, Laffaille P, Jean S. Effects of Pollution on Fish Behavior, Personality, and Cognition: Some Research Perspectives. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
|
10
|
Page H, Sweeney A, Pilko A, Pinter-Wollman N. Underlying mechanisms and ecological context of variation in exploratory behavior of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. J Exp Biol 2018; 221:jeb188722. [PMID: 30385482 PMCID: PMC6307874 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.188722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Uncovering how and why animals explore their environment is fundamental for understanding population dynamics, the spread of invasive species, species interactions, etc. In social animals, individuals within a group can vary in their exploratory behavior, and the behavioral composition of the group can determine its collective success. Workers of the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) exhibit individual variation in exploratory behavior, which affects the colony's collective nest selection behavior. Here, we examine the mechanisms underlying this behavioral variation in exploratory behavior and determine its implications for the ecology of this species. We first establish that individual variation in exploratory behavior is repeatable and consistent across situations. We then show a relationship between exploratory behavior and the expression of genes that have been previously linked with other behaviors in social insects. Specifically, we found a negative relationship between exploratory behavior and the expression of the foraging (Lhfor) gene. Finally, we determine how colonies allocate exploratory individuals in natural conditions. We found that ants from inside the nest are the least exploratory individuals, whereas workers on newly formed foraging trails are the most exploratory individuals. Furthermore, we found temporal differences throughout the year: in early-mid spring, when new resources emerge, workers are more exploratory than at the end of winter, potentially allowing the colony to find and exploit new resources. These findings reveal the importance of individual variation in behavior for the ecology of social animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Page
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Andrew Sweeney
- Biocircuits Institute, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Anna Pilko
- Institute of Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Noa Pinter-Wollman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Institute of Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Kasper C, Kölliker M, Postma E, Taborsky B. Consistent cooperation in a cichlid fish is caused by maternal and developmental effects rather than heritable genetic variation. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0369. [PMID: 28701555 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 06/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies on the evolution of cooperative behaviour are typically confined to understanding its adaptive value. It is equally essential, however, to understand its potential to evolve, requiring knowledge about the phenotypic consistency and genetic basis of cooperative behaviour. While previous observational studies reported considerably high heritabilities of helping behaviour in cooperatively breeding vertebrates, experimental studies disentangling the relevant genetic and non-genetic components of cooperative behaviour are lacking. In a half-sibling breeding experiment, we investigated the repeatability and heritability of three major helping behaviours performed by subordinates of the cooperatively breeding fish Neolamprologus pulcher To experimentally manipulate the amount of help needed in a territory, we raised the fish in two environments differing in egg predation risk. All three helping behaviours were significantly repeatable, but had very low heritabilities. The high within-individual consistencies were predominantly due to maternal and permanent environment effects. The perceived egg predation risk had no effect on helping, but social interactions significantly influenced helping propensities. Our results reveal that developmentally plastic adjustments of provided help to social context shape cooperative phenotypes, whereas heritable genetic variation plays a minor role.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Kasper
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Mathias Kölliker
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Erik Postma
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.,Center for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
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.
Collapse
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:
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Mohorianu I, Bretman A, Smith DT, Fowler EK, Dalmay T, Chapman T. Genomic responses to the socio-sexual environment in male Drosophila melanogaster exposed to conspecific rivals. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2017; 23:1048-1059. [PMID: 28428330 PMCID: PMC5473139 DOI: 10.1261/rna.059246.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Socio-sexual environments have profound effects on fitness. Local sex ratios can alter the threat of sexual competition, to which males respond via plasticity in reproductive behaviors and ejaculate composition. In Drosophila melanogaster, males detect the presence of conspecific, same-sex mating rivals prior to mating using multiple, redundant sensory cues. Males that respond to rivals gain significant fitness benefits by altering mating duration and ejaculate composition. Here we investigated the underlying genome-wide changes involved. We used RNA-seq to analyze male transcriptomic responses 2, 26, and 50 h after exposure to rivals, a time period that was previously identified as encompassing the major facets of male responses to rivals. The results showed a strong early activation of multiple sensory genes in the head-thorax (HT), prior to the expression of any phenotypic differences. This gene expression response was reduced by 26 h, at the time of maximum phenotypic change, and shut off by 50 h. In the abdomen (A), fewer genes changed in expression and gene expression responses appeared to increase over time. The results also suggested that different sets of functionally equivalent genes might be activated in different replicates. This could represent a mechanism by which robustness is conferred upon highly plastic traits. Overall, our study reveals that mRNA-seq can identify subtle genomic signatures characteristic of flexible behavioral phenotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Irina Mohorianu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Amanda Bretman
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Damian T Smith
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Emily K Fowler
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Tamas Dalmay
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Tracey Chapman
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Rittschof CC. Sequential social experiences interact to modulate aggression but not brain gene expression in the honey bee ( Apis mellifera). Front Zool 2017; 14:16. [PMID: 28270855 PMCID: PMC5335736 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0199-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In highly structured societies, individuals behave flexibly and cooperatively in order to achieve a particular group-level outcome. However, even in social species, environmental inputs can have long lasting effects on individual behavior, and variable experiences can even result in consistent individual differences and constrained behavioral flexibility. Despite the fact that such constraints on behavior could have implications for behavioral optimization at the social group level, few studies have explored how social experiences accumulate over time, and the mechanistic basis of these effects. In the current study, I evaluate how sequential social experiences affect individual and group level aggressive phenotypes, and individual brain gene expression, in the highly social honey bee (Apis mellifera). To do this, I combine a whole colony chronic predator disturbance treatment with a lab-based manipulation of social group composition. RESULTS Compared to the undisturbed control, chronically disturbed individuals show lower aggression levels overall, but also enhanced behavioral flexibility in the second, lab-based social context. Disturbed bees display aggression levels that decline with increasing numbers of more aggressive, undisturbed group members. However, group level aggressive phenotypes are similar regardless of the behavioral tendencies of the individuals that make up the group, suggesting a combination of underlying behavioral tendency and negative social feedback influences the aggressive behaviors displayed, particularly in the case of disturbed individuals. An analysis of brain gene expression showed that aggression related biomarker genes reflect an individual's disturbance history, but not subsequent social group experience or behavioral outcomes. CONCLUSIONS In highly social animals with collective behavioral phenotypes, social context may mask underlying variation in individual behavioral tendencies. Moreover, gene expression patterns may reflect behavioral tendency, while behavioral outcomes are further regulated by social cues perceived in real-time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Rittschof
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Ag. Science Center North, Lexington, KY 40546 USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Schneider RF, Meyer A. How plasticity, genetic assimilation and cryptic genetic variation may contribute to adaptive radiations. Mol Ecol 2016; 26:330-350. [PMID: 27747962 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Revised: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 10/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that phenotypic plasticity can promote population divergence by facilitating phenotypic diversification and, eventually, genetic divergence. When a 'plastic' population colonizes a new habitat, it has the possibility to occupy multiple niches by expressing several distinct phenotypes. These initially reflect the population's plastic range but may later become genetically fixed by selection via the process of 'genetic assimilation' (GA). Through this process multiple specialized sister lineages can arise that share a common plastic ancestor - the 'flexible stem'. Here, we review possible molecular mechanisms through which natural selection could fix an initially plastic trait during GA. These mechanisms could also explain how GA may contribute to cryptic genetic variation that can subsequently be coopted into other phenotypes or traits, but also lead to nonadaptive responses. We outline the predicted patterns of genetic and transcriptional divergence accompanying flexible stem radiations. The analysis of such patterns of (retained) adaptive and nonadaptive plastic responses within and across radiating lineages can inform on the state of ongoing GA. We conclude that, depending on the stability of the environment, the molecular architecture underlying plastic traits can facilitate diversification, followed by fixation and consolidation of an adaptive phenotype and degeneration of nonadaptive ones. Additionally, the process of GA may increase the cryptic genetic variation of populations, which on one hand may serve as substrate for evolution, but on another may be responsible for nonadaptive responses that consolidate local allopatry and thus reproductive isolation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ralf F Schneider
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitaetstrasse 10, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Axel Meyer
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitaetstrasse 10, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Can personality predict individual differences in brook trout spatial learning ability? Behav Processes 2016; 141:220-228. [PMID: 27567303 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2016] [Revised: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
While differences in individual personality are common in animal populations, understanding the ecological significance of variation has not yet been resolved. Evidence suggests that personality may influence learning and memory; a finding that could improve our understanding of the evolutionary processes that produce and maintain intraspecific behavioural heterogeneity. Here, we tested whether boldness, the most studied personality trait in fish, could predict learning ability in brook trout. After quantifying boldness, fish were trained to find a hidden food patch in a maze environment. Stable landmark cues were provided to indicate the location of food and, at the conclusion of training, cues were rearranged to test for learning. There was a negative relationship between boldness and learning as shy fish were increasingly more successful at navigating the maze and locating food during training trials compared to bold fish. In the altered testing environment, only shy fish continued using cues to search for food. Overall, the learning rate of bold fish was found to be lower than that of shy fish for several metrics suggesting that personality could have widespread effects on behaviour. Because learning can increase plasticity to environmental change, these results have significant implications for fish conservation.
Collapse
|
17
|
|
18
|
Aubin‐Horth N. Using an integrative approach to investigate the evolution of behaviour. Evol Appl 2016; 9:166-80. [PMID: 27087846 PMCID: PMC4780388 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Behaviour is a central focus of interest in biology because it has an impact on several aspects of an organism's life. Evolutionary biologists have realised the advantage of an integrative approach that jointly studies the molecular, cellular and physiological levels of an individual to link them with the organismal behavioural phenotype. First, this mechanistic information helps in understanding physiological and evolutionary constraints acting on the behavioural response to the environment and its evolution. Second, it furthers our understanding of the process of molecular convergent evolution. Finally, we learn about natural variation in molecular, cellular and physiological traits present in wild populations and their underlying genetic basis, which can be a substrate for selection to act on. I illustrate these points using our work on behaviour variation in fishes. The information on the mechanistic bases of behaviour variation in various species and behaviours will contribute to an ecological annotation of genes and to uncover new mechanisms implicated in how this astonishing behavioural diversity arose, is maintained and will evolve.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Aubin‐Horth
- Département de biologie & Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des SystèmesUniversité LavalQuébecQCCanada
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
|
20
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Royauté R, Pruitt JN. Varying predator personalities generates contrasting prey communities in an agroecosystem. Ecology 2015; 96:2902-11. [DOI: 10.1890/14-2424.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
22
|
|
23
|
Sopinka NM, Hinch SG, Healy SJ, Harrison PM, Patterson DA. Egg cortisol treatment affects the behavioural response of coho salmon to a conspecific intruder and threat of predation. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
|
24
|
Planas-Sitjà I, Deneubourg JL, Gibon C, Sempo G. Group personality during collective decision-making: a multi-level approach. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 282:20142515. [PMID: 25652834 PMCID: PMC4344149 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2014] [Accepted: 01/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Collective decision-making processes emerge from social feedback networks within a group. Many studies on collective behaviour underestimate the role of individual personality and, as a result, personality is rarely analysed in the context of collective dynamics. Here, we show evidence of sheltering behaviour personality in a gregarious insect (Periplaneta americana), which is characterized by a collective personality at the group level. We also highlight that the individuals within groups exhibited consistent personality traits in their probability of sheltering and total time sheltered during the three trials over one week. Moreover, the group personality, which arises from the synergy between the distribution of behaviour profiles in the group and social amplifications, affected the sheltering dynamics. However, owing to its robustness, personality did not affect the group probability of reaching a consensus. Finally, to prove social interactions, we developed a new statistical method that will be helpful for future research on personality traits and group behaviour. This approach will help to identify the circumstances under which particular group compositions may improve the fitness of individuals in gregarious species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Planas-Sitjà
- Unit of Social Ecology-CP 231, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, Boulevard du Triomphe, Building NO-level 5, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Jean-Louis Deneubourg
- Unit of Social Ecology-CP 231, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, Boulevard du Triomphe, Building NO-level 5, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Céline Gibon
- Unit of Social Ecology-CP 231, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, Boulevard du Triomphe, Building NO-level 5, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Grégory Sempo
- Unit of Social Ecology-CP 231, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, Boulevard du Triomphe, Building NO-level 5, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Koski SE, Burkart JM. Common marmosets show social plasticity and group-level similarity in personality. Sci Rep 2015; 5:8878. [PMID: 25743581 PMCID: PMC5155412 DOI: 10.1038/srep08878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The social environment influences animal personality on evolutionary and immediate time scales. However, studies of animal personality rarely assess the effects of the social environment, particularly in species that live in stable groups with individualized relationships. We assessed personality experimentally in 17 individuals of the common marmoset, living in four groups. We found their personality to be considerably modified by the social environment. Marmosets exhibited relatively high plasticity in their behaviour, and showed ‘group-personality’, i.e. group-level similarity in the personality traits. In exploratory behaviour this was maintained only in the social environment but not when individuals were tested alone, suggesting that exploration tendency is subjected to social facilitation. Boldness, in contrast, showed higher consistency across the social and solitary conditions, and the group-level similarity in trait scores was sustained also outside of the immediate social environment. The ‘group-personality’ was not due to genetic relatedness, supporting that it was produced by social effects. We hypothesize that ‘group-personality’ may be adaptive for highly cooperative animals through facilitating cooperation among individuals with similar behavioural tendency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sonja E Koski
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Judith M Burkart
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Schneider RF, Li Y, Meyer A, Gunter HM. Regulatory gene networks that shape the development of adaptive phenotypic plasticity in a cichlid fish. Mol Ecol 2014; 23:4511-26. [PMID: 25041245 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2014] [Revised: 06/14/2014] [Accepted: 06/25/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of organisms with a given genotype to develop different phenotypes according to environmental stimuli, resulting in individuals that are better adapted to local conditions. In spite of their ecological importance, the developmental regulatory networks underlying plastic phenotypes often remain uncharacterized. We examined the regulatory basis of diet-induced plasticity in the lower pharyngeal jaw (LPJ) of the cichlid fish Astatoreochromis alluaudi, a model species in the study of adaptive plasticity. Through raising juvenile A. alluaudi on either a hard or soft diet (hard-shelled or pulverized snails) for between 1 and 8 months, we gained insight into the temporal regulation of 19 previously identified candidate genes during the early stages of plasticity development. Plasticity in LPJ morphology was first detected between 3 and 5 months of diet treatment. The candidate genes, belonging to various functional categories, displayed dynamic expression patterns that consistently preceded the onset of morphological divergence and putatively contribute to the initiation of the plastic phenotypes. Within functional categories, we observed striking co-expression, and transcription factor binding site analysis was used to examine the prospective basis of their coregulation. We propose a regulatory network of LPJ plasticity in cichlids, presenting evidence for regulatory crosstalk between bone and muscle tissues, which putatively facilitates the development of this highly integrated trait. Through incorporating a developmental time-course into a phenotypic plasticity study, we have identified an interconnected, environmentally responsive regulatory network that shapes the development of plasticity in a key innovation of East African cichlids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ralf F Schneider
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätstrasse 10, 78457, Konstanz, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Organismal Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstr 10, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Abstract
Researchers studying the adaptive significance of behaviour typically assume that genetic mechanisms will not inhibit evolutionary trajectories, an assumption commonly known as the 'phenotypic gambit'. Although the phenotypic gambit continues to be a useful heuristic for behavioural ecology, here we discuss how genomic methods provide new tools and conceptual approaches that are relevant to behavioural ecology. We first describe how the concept of a genetic toolkit for behaviour can allow behavioural ecologists to synthesize both genomic and ecological information when assessing behavioural adaptation. Then we show how gene expression profiles can be viewed as complex phenotypic measurements, used to (1) predict behaviour, (2) evaluate phenotypic plasticity and (3) devise methods to manipulate behaviour in order to test adaptive hypotheses. We propose that advances in genomics and bioinformatics may allow researchers to overcome some of the logistical obstacles that motivated the inception of the phenotypic gambit. Behavioural ecology and genomics are mutually informative, providing potential synergy that could lead to powerful advances in the field of animal behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Rittschof
- Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL, U.S.A
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL, U.S.A
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
|
29
|
Rosvall KA. Proximate perspectives on the evolution of female aggression: good for the gander, good for the goose? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20130083. [PMID: 24167313 PMCID: PMC3826212 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Female-female aggression often functions in competition over reproductive or social benefits, but the proximate mechanisms of this apparently adaptive behaviour are not well understood. The sex steroid hormone testosterone (T) and its metabolites are well-established mediators of male-male aggression, and several lines of evidence suggest that T-mediated mechanisms may apply to females as well. However, a key question is whether mechanisms of female aggression primarily reflect correlated evolutionary responses to selection acting on males, or whether direct selection acting on females has made modifications to these mechanisms that are adaptive in light of female life history. Here, I examine the degree to which female aggression is mediated at the level of T production, target tissue sensitivity to T, or downstream genomic responses in order to test the hypothesis that selection favours mechanisms that facilitate female aggression while minimizing the costs of systemically elevated T. I draw heavily from avian systems, including the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), as well as other organisms in which these mechanisms have been well studied from an evolutionary/ecological perspective in both sexes. Findings reveal that the sexes share many behavioural and hormonal mechanisms, though several patterns also suggest sex-specific adaptation. I argue that greater attention to multiple levels of analysis-from hormone to receptor to gene network, including analyses of individual variation that represents the raw material of evolutionary change-will be a fruitful path for understanding mechanisms of behavioural regulation and intersexual coevolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly A. Rosvall
- Department of Biology, Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Sweeney K, Gadd RDH, Hess ZL, McDermott DR, MacDonald L, Cotter P, Armagost F, Chen JZ, Berning AW, DiRienzo N, Pruitt JN. Assessing the Effects of Rearing Environment, Natural Selection, and Developmental Stage on the Emergence of a Behavioral Syndrome. Ethology 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kayla Sweeney
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Ryan D. H. Gadd
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Zachary L. Hess
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Donna R. McDermott
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Leigh MacDonald
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Patrick Cotter
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Fawn Armagost
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Jason Z. Chen
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Aric W. Berning
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Nicholas DiRienzo
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| | - Jonathan N. Pruitt
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh; PA; USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Twiss SD, Cairns C, Culloch RM, Richards SA, Pomeroy PP. Variation in female grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) reproductive performance correlates to proactive-reactive behavioural types. PLoS One 2012; 7:e49598. [PMID: 23166723 PMCID: PMC3500302 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2012] [Accepted: 10/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Consistent individual differences (CIDs) in behaviour, indicative of behavioural types or personalities, have been shown in taxa ranging from Cnidaria to Mammalia. However, despite numerous theoretical explanations there remains limited empirical evidence for selective mechanisms that maintain such variation within natural populations. We examined behavioural types and fitness proxies in wild female grey seals at the North Rona breeding colony. Experiments in 2009 and 2010 employed a remotely-controlled vehicle to deliver a novel auditory stimulus to females to elicit changes in pup-checking behaviour. Mothers tested twice during lactation exhibited highly repeatable individual pup-checking rates within and across breeding seasons. Observations of undisturbed mothers (i.e. experiencing no disturbance from conspecifics or experimental test) also revealed CIDs in pup-checking behaviour. However, there was no correlation between an individuals' pup-checking rate during undisturbed observations with the rate in response to the auditory test, indicating plasticity across situations. The extent to which individuals changed rates of pup-checking from undisturbed to disturbed conditions revealed a continuum of behavioural types from proactive females, who maintained a similar rate throughout, to reactive females, who increased pup-checking markedly in response to the test. Variation in maternal expenditure (daily mass loss rate) was greater among more reactive mothers than proactive mothers. Consequently pups of more reactive mothers had more varied growth rates centred around the long-term population mean. These patterns could not be accounted for by other measured covariates as behavioural type was unrelated to a mother's prior experience, degree of inter-annual site fidelity, physical characteristics of their pupping habitat, pup sex or pup activity. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that variation in behavioural types is maintained by spatial and temporal environmental variation combined with limits to phenotype-environment matching.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sean D Twiss
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
32
|
Andersson MÅ, Höglund E. Linking personality to larval energy reserves in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). PLoS One 2012; 7:e49247. [PMID: 23155473 PMCID: PMC3498305 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2012] [Accepted: 10/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a surging interest in the evolution, ecology and physiology of personality differences. However, most of the studies in this research area have been performed in adult animals. Trait variations expressed early in development and how they are related to the ontogeny of an animal’s personality are far less studied. Genetic differences as well as environmental factors causing functional variability of the central serotonergic system have been related to personality differences in vertebrates, including humans. Such gene-environment interplay suggests that the central serotonergic system plays an important role in the ontogeny of personality traits. In salmonid fishes, the timing of emergence from spawning nests is related to energy reserves, aggression, and social dominance. However, it is currently unknown how the size of the yolk reserve is reflected on aggression and dominance, or if these traits are linked to differences in serotonergic transmission in newly emerged larvae. In this study we investigated the relationship between yolk reserves, social dominance, and serotonergic transmission in newly emerged rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) larvae. This was conducted by allowing larvae with the same emergence time, but with different yolk sizes, to interact in pairs for 24 h. The results show that individuals with larger yolks performed more aggressive acts, resulting in a suppression of aggression in individuals with smaller yolks. A higher brain serotonergic activity confirmed subordination in larvae with small yolks. The relationship between social dominance and yolk size was present in siblings, demonstrating a link between interfamily variation in energy reserves and aggression, and suggests that larger yolk reserves fuel a more aggressive personality during the initial territorial establishment in salmonid fishes. Furthermore, socially naïve larvae with big yolks had lower serotonin levels, suggesting that other factors than the social environment causes variation in serotonergic transmission, underlying individual variation in aggressive behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Madelene Åberg Andersson
- DTU Aqua, Section for Aquaculture, The North Sea Research Centre, Technical University of Denmark, Hirtshals, Denmark
| | - Erik Höglund
- DTU Aqua, Section for Aquaculture, The North Sea Research Centre, Technical University of Denmark, Hirtshals, Denmark
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Zayed A, Robinson GE. Understanding the relationship between brain gene expression and social behavior: lessons from the honey bee. Annu Rev Genet 2012; 46:591-615. [PMID: 22994354 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-110711-155517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Behavior is a complex phenotype that is plastic and evolutionarily labile. The advent of genomics has revolutionized the field of behavioral genetics by providing tools to quantify the dynamic nature of brain gene expression in relation to behavioral output. The honey bee Apis mellifera provides an excellent platform for investigating the relationship between brain gene expression and behavior given both the remarkable behavioral repertoire expressed by members of its intricate society and the degree to which behavior is influenced by heredity and the social environment. Here, we review a linked series of studies that assayed changes in honey bee brain transcriptomes associated with natural and experimentally induced changes in behavioral state. These experiments demonstrate that brain gene expression is closely linked with behavior, that changes in brain gene expression mediate changes in behavior, and that the association between specific genes and behavior exists over multiple timescales, from physiological to evolutionary.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amro Zayed
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.
| | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
Mowles SL, Cotton PA, Briffa M. Consistent crustaceans: the identification of stable behavioural syndromes in hermit crabs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1359-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
|
35
|
Archard GA, Earley RL, Hanninen AF, Braithwaite VA. Correlated behaviour and stress physiology in fish exposed to different levels of predation pressure. Funct Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01968.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
|
36
|
Aubin-Horth N, Deschênes M, Cloutier S. Natural variation in the molecular stress network correlates with a behavioural syndrome. Horm Behav 2012; 61:140-6. [PMID: 22155114 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2011] [Revised: 11/22/2011] [Accepted: 11/23/2011] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
In several species, individuals from the same population behave differently from each other. A functional link between variation in personality traits and the stress response has been suggested by studies in artificial selection lines in fish, birds and mammals. The aim of this study was to test whether the expression of genes involved in the stress response co-varies with personality traits in a natural population. Four personality traits, excreted cortisol level and brain expression of six candidate genes (CRF, CRF-R2, POMC1, GR1, GR2, MR) were measured in non-stressed wild-caught threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We found correlations between variation in personality traits and variation in the expression of genes involved in the stress response. Aggressiveness was negatively correlated with cortisol levels. Boldness and aggressiveness formed a behavioural syndrome and were both positively correlated with brain expression of glucocorticoid receptors (GR1 and GR2). Boldness and exploration were positively correlated with expression of POMC1 but not with each other. Our results are compatible with a model that suggests that the aggressiveness-boldness behavioural syndrome could be the consequence of a physiological pleiotropic effect of glucocorticoid receptors, which are involved in the stress response and behaviour variation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Aubin-Horth
- Département de Biologie et Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada G1V 0A6.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
Koprivnikar J, Gibson CH, Redfern JC. Infectious personalities: behavioural syndromes and disease risk in larval amphibians. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:1544-50. [PMID: 22090390 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioural consistency or predictability through time and/or different contexts ('syndromes' or 'personality types') is likely to have substantial influence on animal life histories and fitness. Consequently, there is much interest in the forces driving and maintaining various syndromes. Individual host behaviours have been associated with susceptibility to parasitism, yet the role of pre-existing personality types in acquiring infections has not been investigated experimentally. Using a larval amphibian-trematode parasite model system, we report that tadpoles generally showed consistency in their activity level in response to both novel food and parasite exposure. Not only were individual activity level and exploration in the novel food context correlated with each other and with anti-parasite behaviour, all three were significant predictors of host parasite load. This is the first empirical demonstration that host behaviours in other contexts are related to behaviours mitigating infection risk and, ultimately, host parasite load. We suggest that this system illustrates how reliably high levels of activity and exploratory behaviour in different contexts might maximize both energy acquisition and resistance to trematode parasites. Such benefits could drive selection for the behavioural syndrome seen here owing to the life histories and ecological circumstances typical of wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) larvae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janet Koprivnikar
- Department of Biology, Brandon University, John R. Brodie Science Centre, 270 18th Street, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Bell
- Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Dochtermann NA. TESTING CHEVERUD'S CONJECTURE FOR BEHAVIORAL CORRELATIONS AND BEHAVIORAL SYNDROMES. Evolution 2011; 65:1814-20. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01264.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
40
|
Réale D, Dingemanse NJ, Kazem AJN, Wright J. Evolutionary and ecological approaches to the study of personality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 365:3937-46. [PMID: 21078646 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 310] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This introduction to the themed issue on Evolutionary and ecological approaches to the study of personality provides an overview of conceptual, theoretical and methodological progress in research on animal personalities over the last decade, and places the contributions to this volume in context. The issue has three main goals. First, we aimed to bring together theoreticians to contribute to the development of models providing adaptive explanations for animal personality that could guide empiricists, and stimulate exchange of ideas between the two groups of researchers. Second, we aimed to stimulate cross-fertilization between different scientific fields that study personality, namely behavioural ecology, psychology, genomics, quantitative genetics, neuroendocrinology and developmental biology. Third, we aimed to foster the application of an evolutionary framework to the study of personality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Dochtermann NA, Roff DA. Applying a quantitative genetics framework to behavioural syndrome research. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 365:4013-20. [PMID: 21078653 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Current interest in behavioural syndromes, or 'animal personalities', reinforces a need for behavioural ecologists to adopt a multivariate view of phenotypes. Fortunately, many of the methodological and theoretical issues currently being dealt with by behavioural ecologists within the context of behavioural syndromes have previously been investigated by researchers in other areas of evolutionary ecology. As a result of these previous efforts, behavioural syndrome researchers have considerable theory and a wide range of tools already available to them. Here, we discuss aspects of quantitative genetics useful for understanding the multivariate phenotype as well as the relevance of quantitative genetics to behavioural syndrome research. These methods not only allow the proper characterization of the multivariate behavioural phenotype and genotype-including behaviours within, among and independent of behavioural syndrome structures-but also allow predictions as to how populations may respond to selection on behaviours within syndromes. An application of a quantitative genetics framework to behavioural syndrome research also clarifies and refines the questions that should be asked.
Collapse
|
42
|
van Oers K, Mueller JC. Evolutionary genomics of animal personality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 365:3991-4000. [PMID: 21078651 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on animal personality can be approached from both a phenotypic and a genetic perspective. While using a phenotypic approach one can measure present selection on personality traits and their combinations. However, this approach cannot reconstruct the historical trajectory that was taken by evolution. Therefore, it is essential for our understanding of the causes and consequences of personality diversity to link phenotypic variation in personality traits with polymorphisms in genomic regions that code for this trait variation. Identifying genes or genome regions that underlie personality traits will open exciting possibilities to study natural selection at the molecular level, gene-gene and gene-environment interactions, pleiotropic effects and how gene expression shapes personality phenotypes. In this paper, we will discuss how genome information revealed by already established approaches and some more recent techniques such as high-throughput sequencing of genomic regions in a large number of individuals can be used to infer micro-evolutionary processes, historical selection and finally the maintenance of personality trait variation. We will do this by reviewing recent advances in molecular genetics of animal personality, but will also use advanced human personality studies as case studies of how molecular information may be used in animal personality research in the near future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kees van Oers
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Heteren, The Netherlands.
| | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
|
44
|
Mueller JC, Pulido F, Kempenaers B. Identification of a gene associated with avian migratory behaviour. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 278:2848-56. [PMID: 21325325 PMCID: PMC3145181 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.2567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Bird migration is one of the most spectacular and best-studied phenomena in behavioural biology. Yet, while the patterns of variation in migratory behaviour and its ecological causes have been intensively studied, its genetic, physiological and neurological control remains poorly understood. The lack of knowledge of the molecular basis of migration is currently not only limiting our insight into the proximate control of migration, but also into its evolution. We investigated polymorphisms in the exons of six candidate genes for key behavioural traits potentially linked to migration, which had previously been identified in several bird species, and eight control loci in 14 populations of blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla), representing the whole range of geographical variation in migration patterns found in this species, with the aim of identifying genes controlling variation in migration. We found a consistent association between a microsatellite polymorphism and migratory behaviour only at one candidate locus: the ADCYAP1 gene. This polymorphism explained about 2.6 per cent of the variation in migratory tendency among populations, and 2.7–3.5% of variation in migratory restlessness among individuals within two independent populations. In all tests, longer alleles were associated with higher migratory activity. The consistency of results among different populations and levels of analysis suggests that ADCYAP1 is one of the genes controlling the expression of migratory behaviour. Moreover, the multiple described functions of the gene product indicate that this gene might act at multiple levels modifying the shift between migratory and non-migratory states.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jakob C Mueller
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Starnberg, Germany.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|