Conservation of gene function in behaviour

Abstract

Behaviour genetic research has shown that a given gene or gene pathway can influence categorically similar behaviours in different species. Questions about the conservation of gene function in behaviour are increasingly tractable. This is owing to the surge of DNA and 'omics data, bioinformatic tools, as well as advances in technologies for behavioural phenotyping. Here, we discuss how gene function, as a hierarchical biological phenomenon, can be used to examine behavioural homology across species. The question can be addressed independently using different levels of investigation including the DNA sequence, the gene's position in a genetic pathway, spatial-temporal tissue expression and neural circuitry. Selected examples from the literature are used to illustrate this point. We will also discuss how qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the behavioural phenotype, its function and the importance of environmental and social context should be used in cross-species comparisons. We conclude that (i) there are homologous behaviours, (ii) they are hard to define and (iii) neurogenetics and genomics investigations should help in this endeavour.

How consistent are the transcriptome changes associated with cold acclimation in two species of the Drosophila virilis group?

“…In D. montana, we found two gene clusters which showed significant enrichment for muscle protein (Table 1, orange), while in D. virilis there were several clusters significantly enriched for protein signalling (Table 1, pink). Although the above mentioned functional clusters were only significantly enriched in one species, these processes are likely to be a component of cold acclimation in both of the species as we also found genes (Fitzpatrick et al, 2005;Reaume and Sokolowski, 2011;Martin and Orgogozo, 2013). Candidate gene studies however generally focus upon a subset of genes which have a large influence on a particular trait.…”

“…Candidate gene approaches, whereby genes of interest identified in a model species are functionally examined in others, have often been successful and have indicated that gene function tends be conserved across species (Fitzpatrick et al, 2005;Reaume and Sokolowski, 2011;Martin and Orgogozo, 2013). In contrast, quantitative genetics studies have often suggested that traits important to adaptation are polygenic, and quantitative trait loci (QTL) may have low repeatability between species (Arbuthnott, 2009;Huang et al, 2012;Rockman, 2012).…”

Morphology and behaviour: functional links in development and evolution

“…These findings have occasionally caused misunderstandings as to the correct interpretation of homologous characters [68][69][70] and new ways to define them are being continuously discussed [66,[71][72][73]. The same kind of difficulties are expected when discussing homology in behavioural traits and, especially, their underlying genetic and developmental bases [63].…”

“…Not only are common behaviours like aggression, sex, or learning and memory present across taxa [63], but also more specific ones, such as tool use [64] or web-spinning [65]. A key developmental question is: can similar behaviours in different taxa rest upon completely different neuronal and/or genetic mechanisms or do similar behaviours (independently of the taxon) rely (or even have to rely) on conserved neuronal and/or genetic mechanisms (figure 1)?…”

“…Is there conservation in the elements (genes, neurons) underlying behaviour? Some behaviours, like aggression [88] or learning [89], seem to rely on molecular mechanisms that are conserved between vertebrates and invertebrates [63] (see also [63] for a broader discussion). This might be explained by the fact that a centralized nervous system was already present in the common ancestor of bilateria, as supported by genetic and developmental data [90,91].…”