Allelic variation of the COMT gene in a despotic primate society: A haplotype is related to cortisol excretion in Macaca fuscata

Pflüger, Lena S.; Gutleb, Daria R.; Hofer, Martin; Fieder, Martin; Wallner, Bernard; Steinborn, Ralf

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.11.012

Cited by 12 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…To our knowledge, in mammals between individual glucocorticoid repeatability has not been investigated so far. There is however evidence for some genetic predisposition of glucocorticoid excretion mechanisms (Linkowski et al, 1993;Oswald et al, 2004;Pflüger et al, 2016). Furthermore, a multitude of species has prolonged phases of intensive maternal care (e.g., Purvis and Harvey, 1995), rendering priming of glucocorticoid excretion patterns possible (e.g., Plotsky and Meaney, 1993, but see Aizer et al, 2015;Berghänel et al, 2016;Murray et al, 2016;McCormick et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach

et al. 2018

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Investigating the repeatability of trait variation between individuals, that is the amount of individual variation in relation to overall phenotypic variation, indicates an upper level of heritability and reveals whether a given trait may be subject to selection. Labile traits are characterized by high levels of flexibility and consequently low trait repeatability is expected. Indeed, research examining glucocorticoid levels in various non-mammal species found low repeatability scores. However, mammals may be different in this respect as (i) differential maternal care early in life has the potential to prime hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning and (ii) allelic variation affecting hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning has been reported. Individuals often differ from each other in average and/or plastic labile trait expression, two aspects that can be described using a reaction norm approach. Both consistent and flexible reaction norm expression has been argued to serve adaptive purposes, depending on the stability and predictability of environmental conditions. Here, we investigated both trait and reaction norm repeatability of urinary cortisol levels in wild adult male chimpanzees. To capture the expression of the circadian urinary cortisol rhythm of individual males over time, urine samples were collected throughout the day. In total data of 30 males collected over a period of 8 years were included in the dataset. No male was sampled over the whole 8-year period however. We found minor levels of trait repeatability but considerable reaction norm repeatability. This implies a minor role of genetic or priming factors on cortisol excretion, but reveals that males differ consistently in average urinary cortisol levels and the shape of the circadian urinary cortisol rhythm. Relating these results to fitness parameters will provide answers to questions on the adaptive value of reaction norm repeatability of this labile hormonal trait in the future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach

et al. 2018

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“…Similar associations between COMT variants and physiological stress have been found in humans . Pflüger et al found no association between different COMT haplotypes and aggression in Japanese macaques. Behavioral measures of aggression differ between the 2 studies, as in the Pflüger et al study aggression data were collected ad libitum, were restricted to interactions among adult males during the mating season, and were expressed as the proportion of initiated aggression relative to other male‐male behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Additional evidence for the functional similarity of COMT in humans and non‐human primates comes from a study targeting the region surrounding the COMT Val 158 Met polymorphism in a population of Japanese macaques ( M. fuscata ). These macaques do not carry the candidate SNP, but a polymorphic putative splice site forming 3 haplotypes (HT1, HT2 and HT3), which are associated with physiological stress levels during the mating season . Similar associations between COMT variants and physiological stress have been found in humans .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Provided that the allelic frequency of COMT Val 158 Met has a wide range (0.01 to 0.62) in human populations, sample sizes for non‐human primates (1 to 2 individuals of 4 species in Palmatier et al) may have been too low to warrant these conclusions. From publically available DNA sequences today it is known that both the Val and the Met allele occur in one or the other macaque species ( M. mulatta, M. fuscata : Met, M. fascicularis, M. nemestrina : Val) . This study is the first to identify this polymorphism in a non‐human primate species and to link the genotypic variation to behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Pflüger et al found no association between different COMT haplotypes and aggression in Japanese macaques. Behavioral measures of aggression differ between the 2 studies, as in the Pflüger et al study aggression data were collected ad libitum, were restricted to interactions among adult males during the mating season, and were expressed as the proportion of initiated aggression relative to other male‐male behavior. Thus, it remains to be tested to what extent COMT Val 157 Met and the other 3 detected haplotypes lead to similar effects in non‐human primates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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COMTVal¹⁵⁸Met moderates the link between rank and aggression in a non‐human primate

Gutleb

Roos

Noll

et al. 2017

Genes Brain and Behavior

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The COMT Val Met polymorphism is one of the most widely studied genetic polymorphisms in humans implicated in aggression and the moderation of stressful life event effects. We screened a wild primate population for polymorphisms at the COMT Val Met site and phenotyped them for aggression to test whether the human polymorphism exists and is associated with variation in aggressive behavior. Subjects were all adults from 4 study groups (37 males, 40 females) of Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) in their natural habitat (Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand). We collected focal animal behavioral data (27 males, 36 females, 5964 focal hours) and fecal samples for non-invasive DNA analysis. We identified the human COMT Val Met polymorphism (14 Met/Met, 41 Val/Met and 22 Val/Val). Preliminary results suggest that COMT genotype and dominance rank interact to influence aggression rates. Aggression rates increased with rank in Val/Val, but decreased in Met/Met and Val/Met individuals, with no significant main effect of COMT genotype on aggression. Further support for the interaction effect comes from time series analyses revealing that when changing from lower to higher rank position Val/Val individuals decreased, whereas Met/Met individuals increased their aggression rate. Contradicting the interpretation of earlier studies, we show that the widely studied Val Met polymorphism in COMT is not unique to humans and yields similar behavioral phenotypes in a non-human primate. This study represents an important step towards understanding individual variation in aggression in a wild primate population and may inform human behavioral geneticists about the evolutionary roots of inter-individual variation in aggression.

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The behavioral genetics of nonhuman primates: Status and prospects

Rogers

2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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The complexity and diversity of primate behavior have long attracted the attention of ethologists, psychologists, behavioral ecologists, and neuroscientists. Recent studies have advanced our understanding of the nature of genetic influences on differences in behavior among individuals within species. A number of analyses have focused on the genetic analysis of behavioral reactions to specific experimental tests, providing estimates of the degree of genetic control over reactivity, and beginning to identify the genes involved. Substantial progress is also being made in identifying genetic factors that influence the structure and function of the primate brain. Most of the published studies on these topics have examined either cercopithecines or chimpanzees, though a few studies have addressed these questions in other primate species. One potentially important line of research is beginning to identify the epigenetic processes that influence primate behavior, thus revealing specific cellular and molecular mechanisms by which environmental experiences can influence gene expression or gene function relevant to behavior. This review summarizes many of these studies of non-human primate behavioral genetics. The primary focus is on analyses that address the nature of the genes and genetic processes that affect differences in behavior among individuals within non-human primate species. Analyses of between species differences and potential avenues for future research are also discussed. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ajpa V C

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Allelic variation of the COMT gene in a despotic primate society: A haplotype is related to cortisol excretion in Macaca fuscata

Cited by 12 publications

References 90 publications

Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach

Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach

COMTVal¹⁵⁸Met moderates the link between rank and aggression in a non‐human primate

The behavioral genetics of nonhuman primates: Status and prospects

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Allelic variation of the COMT gene in a despotic primate society: A haplotype is related to cortisol excretion in Macaca fuscata

Cited by 12 publications

References 90 publications

Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach

Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach

COMTVal158Met moderates the link between rank and aggression in a non‐human primate

The behavioral genetics of nonhuman primates: Status and prospects

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COMTVal¹⁵⁸Met moderates the link between rank and aggression in a non‐human primate