Modular genetic control of social status in a cichlid fish
Modular genetic control of social status in a cichlid fish
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.2008925117
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发表时间：
2020-11-10
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Fernald, Russell D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alward, Beau A.;Laud, Vibhav A.;Fernald, Russell D.
社会等级在社会物种中普遍存在，并深刻影响着生理和行为。雄激素如睾酮与社会地位密切相关，但调节社会地位的分子机制尚不清楚。非洲慈鲷鱼Astatotilapia burtoni是一个强大的模式物种，阐明雄激素在社会地位中的作用，因为它们具有丰富的社会等级和遗传可塑性。显性A. burtoni雄性具有大的睾丸和明亮的颜色，并执行攻击和生殖行为，而非优势雄性则没有。A.社会地位然而，由于男性的地位随着社会环境的变化而变化，burtoni处于不断变化之中。由于具有硬骨鱼特有的全基因组重复，A. Burtoni等发现的两种雄激素受体（AR）旁系同源物AR α和AR/i为解开基因复制在社会系统进化中的作用提供了独特的机会。在这里，我们使用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑来产生AR突变体A。burtoni，并进行了一系列实验，以询问社会优势的机械基础。我们发现，AR/i，而不是AR α，是睾丸生长和明亮的着色所需的，而AR α，而不是AR/i，是生殖行为和侵略性显示的性能所需的。这两种受体都需要减少逃离女性和AR是足够的攻击男性。因此，A. burtoni是不可分离的，并且在两个AR旁系同源物的模块化控制下。这种类型的非冗余可能是重要的促进社会可塑性在A。burtoni和其他社会地位依赖于社会经验的物种。
Social hierarchies are ubiquitous in social species and profoundly influence physiology and behavior. Androgens like testosterone have been strongly linked to social status, yet the molecular mechanisms regulating social status are not known. The African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni is a powerful model species for elucidating the role of androgens in social status given their rich social hierarchy and genetic tractability. Dominant A. burtoni males possess large testes and bright coloration and perform aggressive and reproductive behaviors while nondominant males do not. Social status in A. burtoni is in flux, however, as males alter their status depending on the social environment. Due to a teleost-specific whole-genome duplication, A. burtoni possess two androgen recep-tor (AR) paralogs, AR alpha and AR/i, providing a unique opportunity to disentangle the role of gene duplication in the evolution of social systems. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to generate AR mutant A. burtoni and performed a suite of experiments to interrogate the mechanistic basis of social dominance. We find that AR/i, but not AR alpha, is required for testes growth and bright coloration, while AR alpha, but not AR/i, is required for the performance of reproductive behavior and aggressive displays. Both receptors are required to reduce flees from females and either AR is sufficient for attacking males. Thus, social status in A. burtoni is inordinately dissociable and under the modular control of two AR paralogs. This type of nonredundancy may be important in facilitating social plasticity in A. burtoni and other species whose social status relies on social experience.