Self-regulation and the foraging gene ( PRKG1 ) in humans

Abstract

Foraging is a goal-directed behavior that balances the need to explore the environment for resources with the need to exploit those resources. InDrosophila melanogaster, distinct phenotypes have been observed in relation to theforaginggene (for), labeled the rover and sitter. Adult rovers explore their environs more extensively than do adult sitters. We explored whether this distinction would be conserved in humans. We made use of a distinction from regulatory mode theory between those who “get on with it,” so-called locomotors, and those who prefer to ensure they “do the right thing,” so-called assessors. In this logic, rovers and locomotors share similarities in goal pursuit, as do sitters and assessors. We showed that genetic variation inPRKG1, the human ortholog offor, is associated with preferential adoption of a specific regulatory mode. Next, participants performed a foraging task to see whether genetic differences associated with distinct regulatory modes would be associated with distinct goal pursuit patterns. Assessors tended to hug the boundary of the foraging environment, much like behaviors seen inDrosophilaadult sitters. In a patchy foraging environment, assessors adopted more cautious search strategies maximizing exploitation. These results show that distinct patterns of goal pursuit are associated with particular genotypes ofPRKG1, the human ortholog offor.

Availability of public databases for triangulation of findings

“…We tested association of both SNPs (rs1904701 and rs13499, correlation R 2 = 1.8 × 10 −3 ) against a series of traits one would expect to correlate with goal pursuit behavior ( Table 2). We found no robust evidence of association with PRKG1 expression and foraging behavior and therefore no clear support for the findings of Struk et al (1).…”

“…Struk et al (1) report evidence that the rs13499 singlenucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the PRKG1 gene is associated with foraging and goal pursuit behavior. The authors used an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) for PRKG1 obtained from the CommonMind Consortium (n = 467) to test for association between gene expression and phenotype (2).…”

Vulnerable and Resilient Phenotypes in a Mouse Model of Anorexia Nervosa

“…This, as well as hyperactivity, could arise from activation of starvation-induced foraging mechanisms that promote physical activity (26,(54)(55)(56). Individual differences in this response might arise from genetic variation in a human foraging gene (57).…”

Distributed physiology and the molecular basis of social life in eusocial insects

“…It appears that gene regulatory networks evolve through both changes in the regulation of conserved loci and incorporation of new players: novel loci are more likely to be incorporated into distal parts of gene regulatory networks and be expressed in novel or secretory tissues, while conserved loci are more likely to undergo changes to transcriptional regulation in conserved tissues16,95 .The function of conserved members of physiological regulatory processes can be influenced by sequence changes, new regulatory connections, or other contextual changes. For example the cGMP-dependent protein kinase G enzyme (known as foraging in Drosophila ) is famous for being a conserved player in the neurobiology of foraging and metabolic regulation across vertebrate and invertebrate taxa[96][97][98] . While the homology of the PKG locus is indeed deeply conserved, the action of PKG is cell-type specific and also probably depends on the identity of downstream phosphorylation targets.…”