Presentation Detail
Behavior and Social Evolution Metz, Hillery [1], Hoekstra, Hopi [1]. Digging for the genetic basis of complex behavior: burrow construction in wild mice. The genetic architecture and neural mechanisms of behavioral variation remain unknown for most complex natural behaviors, yet this information could transform our understanding of behavioral evolution. Here, we focus on the burrow construction in two sister-species of mice, the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and the oldfield mouse (P. polionotus). Like other mice in the genus, the deer mouse constructs simple burrows with a single short tunnel leading to a nest chamber. By contrast, in the oldfield mouse, burrow construction is complex such that burrows are significantly longer and are composed of multiple tunnels, including an “escape tunnel” which leads away from the nest toward the soil surface but without penetrating it. We investigated the genetic basis of this complex behavior across four advanced backcross generations (BC2-BC5) in an experimental cross to hone in on the precise genetic differences underlying this dramatic difference in burrow construction. Using ddRAD markers to genotype approximately 600 individuals genome-wide followed by QTL mapping, multiple loci associated with differences in burrow construction were detected. Fine-scale mapping for the tunnel length phenotype points to a candidate gene implicated in addiction behavior in lab mice, indicating a possible neural mechanism for the evolution of differences in this natural mammalian behavior.
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Related Links:
Weber, J.N., B.K. Peterson and H.E. Hoekstra. 2013. Discrete genetic modules are responsible for the evolution of complex burrowing behaviour in deer mice. Nature 493:402-405.
1 - Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, United States
Keywords:
Quantitative Genetics
Behavior
nest building behavior
Peromyscus.
Presentation Type: Regular Oral Presentation
Session: 34
Location: Peruvian B/Snowbird Center
Date: Saturday, June 22nd, 2013
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: 34001
Abstract ID:949
Candidate for Awards:W.D. Hamilton Award for Outstanding Student Presentation | 