Genetic Analysis of Behavioral Variation Among Wild and Domesticated Strains of Zebrafish.

动物驯化的过程往往会导致与恐惧相关的行为发生深刻的变化，驯化的种群比野生祖先变得不那么恐惧。 减少恐惧的进化发生在许多驯化的脊椎动物中，包括鸟类，哺乳动物和鱼类，但对驱动这一过程的基因变化知之甚少。在驯化过程中发生的遗传变化总是相同的，还是有许多不同的遗传途径导致相同的行为结果？为了解决这个问题，研究人员必须首先确定脊椎动物中调节恐惧相关行为的基因。这项拟议中的研究使用遗传技术来确定野生和驯养斑马鱼种群中与恐惧相关的行为差异的基因。 除了作为一个重要的生物医学模型，斑马鱼也正在成为一个强大的模型在行为遗传学。 这项研究的结果在许多方面都很重要，包括行为进化的分子机制研究，复杂行为的遗传基础，以及圈养物种的有效保护。 更广泛的影响：圈养饲养的问题与爱达荷州和西北部的美洲土著部落特别相关，因为部落与鲑鱼渔业有着密切的经济和文化联系。 为了增加美国原住民学生对科学的参与，该研究项目每年夏天将在实验室接待两名美国原住民高中生。

The process of animal domestication often causes profound changes in fear-related behaviors, with domesticated populations becoming substantially less fearful than their wild ancestors. The evolution of reduced fearfulness occurs in numerous domesticated vertebrates, including birds, mammals, and fish, but very little is known about the genetic changes that drive this process. Are the genetic changes that occur during domestication always the same, or are there many different genetic paths leading to the same behavioral outcome? To address this question, researchers must first identify the genes that regulate fear related behaviors in vertebrates. The proposed research uses genetic techniques to identify the genes that are responsible for differences in fear-related behaviors among wild and domesticated populations of zebrafish. In addition to being an important biomedical model, the zebrafish is also emerging as a powerful model in behavior genetics. The results of this research will be important in many contexts, including the study of molecular mechanisms of behavioral evolution, the genetic basis of complex behaviors, and the effective conservation of captively reared species. Broader impacts: The issue of captive rearing is particularly relevant to the Native American tribes of Idaho and the Northwest because of the Tribe's close economic and cultural ties to salmon fisheries. To increase participation of Native American Students in the sciences, this research program will host two Native American high school students in the lab each summer.