Oxytocin receptor is not required for social attachment in prairie voles

Berendzen, Kristen M.; Sharma, Ruchira; Mandujano, Maricruz Alvarado; Wei, Yichao; Rogers, Forrest D; Simmons, Trenton C.; Seelke, Adele M. H.; Bond, Jessica; Larios, Rose; Goodwin, Nastacia L.; Sherman, Michael P.; Parthasarthy, Srinivas; Espineda, Isidero; Knoedler, Joseph R.; Beery, Annaliese K.; Bales, Karen L.; Shah, Nirao M.; Manoli, Devanand S.

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.011

“…Male parental care is much more variable than female care in N. orbicollis . Genes of the oxytocin/vasopressin family have a complex relationship with social behavior and likely involve multiple genes that perform functionally redundant roles (Berendzen et al 2022). Yet another explanation is that IT shows similar evolutionary lability in the sex-specificity of social effects as oxytocin/vasopressin do in vertebrate species (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Complex behaviors like parental care evolve through the co-option of existing behaviors and their underlying genetic mechanisms (Tallamy 1984; Cunningham et al 2017; Benowitz et al 2018; Moore and Benowitz 2019). However, gene networks are often robust to changes in individual genes, such that multiple genetic mechanisms may produce the same phenotypes (Manceau et al 2010; Berens et al 2015; Barghi et al 2019; Cunningham et al 2021; Berendzen et al 2022). Thus, it is unclear whether the same genes are co-opted for parental care across taxa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect homolog of oxytocin/vasopressin associated with parenting of males but not females in a subsocial beetle

Potticary¹,

Cunningham²,

McKinney³

et al. 2022

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Gene duplication is thought to allow for the origin of novel gene functions. However, how duplication influences gene function is difficult to determine, as new adaptations may subsume previous traits and the ancestral state is often unknown. One solution is to investigate the functions of a gene that exists as a single and duplicated state in different species. Here, we leverage a system for which functions have been well-characterized in the duplicates (the oxytocin/vasopressin system in vertebrates), and that exists as a single copy (inotocin) in insects. To answer the question of how functions of a single copy are partitioned prior to gene duplication, we experimentally tested the relationship between inotocin gene expression and the known social and non-social functions of oxytocin/vasopressin in a subsocial beetle that expresses complex parental care. We found that inotocin was strongly related to water balance in both males and females, corroborating other evidence that water balance is an ancestral function. Moreover, we found that inotocin was associated with male, but not female, parental care states, influencing the expression of care behavior towards offspring in males. Lastly, using immunohistochemistry, we show that inotocin is broadly distributed in the brains of both female and male parents. These results suggest that the ancestral social function of the vasopressin system may have been to moderate flexibility in male, rather than female behavior, and the role of oxytocin/vasopressin in female-offspring interactions is more recent.

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“…In Sl nos. 10, 17, and 35 (16,23) one or more than one clusters P ( clusters I) were sub-clusters of clusters I (clusters P) (Figures 13 and 14). One or more than one species was/were common between clusters I and cluster P in Sl.…”

Section: Clustering Of Drd2 Receptor Sequencesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Biology of Coital Behavior: Looking Through the Lens of Mathematical Genomics

Sil¹,

Nawn

²

,

Hassan³

et al. 2023

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0

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Research has shown that genetics and epigenetics regulate mating behavior across multiple species. Previous studies have generally focused on the signaling pathways involved and spatial distribution of the associated receptors. However a thorough quantitative characterization of the receptors involved may offer deeper insight into mating behavioral patterns. Here oxytocin, arginine-vasopressin 1a, dopamine 1, and dopamine 2 receptors were investigated across 76 vertebrate species. The receptor sequences were characterized by polarity-based randomness, amino acid frequency-based Shannon entropy and Shannon sequence variability, intrinsic protein disorder, binding affinity, stability and pathogenicity of homology-based SNPs, structural and physicochemical features. Hierarchical clustering of species was derived based on structural and physicochemical features of the four receptor sequences separately, which eventually led to proximal relationships among 29 species. Humans were found to be significantly distant phylogenetically from the prairie voles, a representative of monogamous species based on coital behavior. Furthermore, the mouse (polygamous), the prairie deer mouse (polygamous), and the prairie vole (monogamous) although being proximally related (based on quantitative genomics of receptors), differed in their coital behavioral pattern, mostly, due to behavioral epigenetic regulations. This study adds a perspective that receptor genomics does not directly translate to behavioral patterns.

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“…Over-expression of the OXTR gene through viral vector mediated gene transfer in prepubertal female prairie voles led to display of partner preference and alloparental care at the adult stage [22]. However, another study published in 2022 employed CRISPR to produce Oxtr-null mutants of prairie voles and these voles showed partner preference, aggression towards other potential mates and biparental care even in the absence of OXTR expression [23]. It has been hypothesized that oxytocin may also function through a different pathway to exhibit such behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology of Coital Behavior: Looking Through the Lens of Mathematical Genomics

Sil

¹

,

Nawn

²

,

Hassan³

et al. 2023

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research has shown that genetics and epigenetics regulate mating behavior across multiple species. Previous studies have generally focused on the signaling pathways involved and spatial distribution of the associated receptors. However a thorough quantitative characterization of the receptors involved may offer deeper insight into mating behavioral patterns. Here oxytocin, arginine-vasopressin 1a, dopamine 1, and dopamine 2 receptors were investigated across 76 vertebrate species. The receptor sequences were characterized by polarity-based randomness, amino acid frequency-based Shannon entropy and Shannon sequence variability, intrinsic protein disorder, binding affinity, stability and pathogenicity of homology-based SNPs, structural and physicochemical features. Hierarchical clustering of species was derived based on structural and physicochemical features of the four receptor sequences separately, which eventually led to proximal relationships among 29 species. Humans were found to be significantly distant phylogenetically from the prairie voles, a representative of monogamous species based on coital behavior. Furthermore, the mouse (polygamous), the prairie deer mouse (polygamous), and the prairie vole (monogamous) although being proximally related (based on quantitative genomics of receptors), differed in their coital behavioral pattern, mostly, due to behavioral epigenetic regulations. This study adds a perspective that receptor genomics does not directly translate to behavioral patterns.

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Oxytocin receptor is not required for social attachment in prairie voles

Cited by 62 publications

References 70 publications

Insect homolog of oxytocin/vasopressin associated with parenting of males but not females in a subsocial beetle

Insect homolog of oxytocin/vasopressin associated with parenting of males but not females in a subsocial beetle

Biology of Coital Behavior: Looking Through the Lens of Mathematical Genomics

Biology of Coital Behavior: Looking Through the Lens of Mathematical Genomics

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