Genomic tools for behavioural ecologists to understand repeatable individual differences in behaviour

Bengston, Sarah; Dahan, Romain A.; Donaldson, Zoe R.; Phelps, Steve; Oers, Kees van; Sih, Andrew; Bell, Alison M.

doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0411-4

Cited by 107 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…The advent of transcriptomics along with molecular markers for neural activity offer new opportunities to investigate proximate mechanisms underlying behavioral variation in species lacking sequenced genomes (44). Guided by our transcriptomic study (see above), we use phosphorylated S6 protein (pS6), a marker of neural activity (45), to test the hypothesis that POA-AH galanin neurons (POA-AH Gal ) are differentially activated during mating, but not other eproductive-related behaviors, in individuals exhibiting the courting type I male tactic and not in males of either morph exhibiting the cuckolding tactic or in females.…”

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confidence: 99%

Preoptic galanin neuron activation is specific to courtship reproductive tactic in fish with two male morphs

Tripp

Salas-Allende

Makowski

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Species exhibiting alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) provide ideal models for investigating neural mechanisms underlying robust and consistent differences in social behavioral phenotypes between individuals within a single sex. Using phospho-S6 protein (pS6), a neural activity marker, we investigate the activation of galanin-expressing neurons in the preoptic area-anterior hypothalamus (POA-AH) during ARTs in midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) that have two adult male morphs: type I's that reproduce using an acoustic-dependent courtship tactic or a cuckolding tactic, and type II's that only cuckold. The proportion of pS6-labelled galanin neurons increases during mating by courting type I males, but not cuckolders of either male morph or females, and is not explained by vocalization, eggs in the nest, or cuckolders present during mating. These differences within the same behavioral context indicate a male phenotype-specific role for galanin neurons in mating interactions, providing the most direct evidence to date for the role of a specific neuronal population in the differential activation of one mating behavior over the other in species exhibiting ARTs. More broadly, together with their known role in mammalian mating, the results suggest a deep-rooted, phylogenetically shared function for POA-AH galanin neurons in reproductive behavior. As such, these findings also provide new insights into the evolutionary relationship between POA-AH populations involved in social behavior regulation in teleosts, the most species-rich vertebrate group, with those in the more highly differentiated POA-AH of mammals.

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confidence: 99%

Preoptic galanin neuron activation is specific to courtship reproductive tactic in fish with two male morphs

Tripp

Salas-Allende

Makowski

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Here we provide the first chromosome-scale reference assembly of an intensivelystudied Australian bird species, the superb fairy-wren, and the exceptionally diverse family and infraorder to which it belongs. The species has been a focal organism in studying cooperative will allow researchers to start searching for genotype-phenotype links behind certain behaviours or behavioural types (Bengston et al, 2018). Researchers can search for candidate genes underlying particular phenotypic traits through gene association studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome of an iconic Australian bird: Chromosome-scale assembly and linkage map of the superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus)

Peñalba¹,

Deng

Joseph

et al. 2019

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The superb fairy-wren, Malurus cyaneus, is one of the most iconic Australian passerine species. This species belongs to an endemic Australasian clade, Meliphagides, which diversified early in the evolution of the oscine passerines. Today, the oscine passerines comprise almost half of all avian species diversity. Despite the rapid increase of available bird genome assemblies, this part of the avian tree has not yet been represented by a high-quality reference. To rectify that, we present the first chromosome-scale genome assembly of a Meliphagides representative: the superb fairy-wren. We combined Illumina shotgun and matepair sequences, PacBio long-reads, and a genetic linkage map from an intensively sampled pedigree of a wild population to generate this genome assembly. Of the final assembled 1.07Gb genome, 894Mb (84.8%) was anchored onto 25 chromosomes resulting in a final scaffold N50 of 68.11 Mb. This high-quality bird genome assembly is also one of only a handful which is also accompanied by a genetic map and recombination landscape. In comparison to other pedigreebased bird genetic maps, we find that the zebrafinch (Taeniopygia) genetic map more closely resembles the fairy-wren map rather than the map from the more closely-related Ficedula flycatcher. Lastly, we also provide a predictive gene and repeat annotation of the genome assembly. This new high quality, annotated genome assembly will be an invaluable resource not only to the superb fairy-wren species and relatives but also broadly across the avian tree by providing a new reference point for comparative genomic analyses.

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“…Therefore it seems even more important to further perform transcriptomics analyses on other organs and tissues to identify the phenotypic changes and ecoevolutionary processes linked with the black rat invasion success. Brain, where key genes underlying behavioural invasion syndrome are expected to be expressed, could be a relevant organ to target in the future 46 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential immune gene expression associated with contemporary range expansion of two invasive rodents in Senegal

Charbonnel¹,

Galan²,

Tatard³

et al. 2018

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Biological invasions are major anthropogenic changes associated with threats to biodiversity and health. What determines the successful establishment and spread of introduced populations still remains unsolved. Here, we explore the assertion that invasion success relies on immune phenotypic traits that would be advantageous in recently invaded sites. We compared gene expression profiles between anciently and recently established populations of two major invading species, the house mouse Mus musculus domesticus and the black rat Rattus rattus, in Senegal (West Africa). Transcriptome analyses revealed respectively 364 and 83 differentially expressed genes between anciently and recently established mouse and rat populations. Among them, 20.0% and 10.6% were annotated with functions related to immunity. All immune-related genes detected along the mouse invasion route were overexpressed in recently invaded sites. Genes of the complement activation pathway were overrepresented. Results were less straightforward for the black rat as no particular immunological process was over-represented. We revealed changes in transcriptome profiles along invasion routes, although specific patterns differed between the two invasive species. These changes could potentially be driven by increased infection risks in recently invaded sites for the house mouse and stochastic events associated with colonization history for the black rat. These results provide a first step in identifying the immune eco-evolutionary processes potentially involved in invasion success.

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Genomic tools for behavioural ecologists to understand repeatable individual differences in behaviour

Cited by 107 publications

References 108 publications

Preoptic galanin neuron activation is specific to courtship reproductive tactic in fish with two male morphs

Preoptic galanin neuron activation is specific to courtship reproductive tactic in fish with two male morphs

Genome of an iconic Australian bird: Chromosome-scale assembly and linkage map of the superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus)

Differential immune gene expression associated with contemporary range expansion of two invasive rodents in Senegal

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