DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The genetic basis of adaptive burrowing behavior

论文研究：适应性穴居行为的遗传基础

• 批准号: 0910164
• 负责人: Hopi Hoekstra
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-15 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0910164&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; genetic; basis; adaptive

Most animals display innate behaviors - behaviors that are strongly influenced by genetics and are not strictly taught or learned. These innate behaviors can evolve if they contribute to differential reproductive success of individuals that display the behavior. The focus of this project is to examine how genetic changes lead to differences in innate burrowing behavior between two species of mice. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) build small burrows with only a single, short entrance tunnel, while their sister species, oldfield mice (P. polionotus), construct long burrows with both an entrance and an escape tunnel. The long entrance tunnel and addition of an escape tunnel are probably adaptations for avoiding predators in the sparsely vegetated habitat that oldfield mice occupy. By interbreeding these two species and examining the behavior of hybrid offspring with molecular and statistical tools, this research will answer two primary questions: how many and which genes contribute to the increased length and escape tunnels seen in oldfield mouse burrows? Preliminary results suggest that changes in only a few genes may explain most of the differences in burrow shape and size. Overall, this research aims to dissect the genetic basis of an ecologically-relevant behavior in natural populations of mice.A detailed understanding of the genetics underlying burrowing in these two species will provide an empirical framework for studying the genetics and evolution adaptive behaviors in general. The broader impacts of this research include: (1) engaging undergraduate students in research, and (2) explaining both the methods of behavioral and genetic research and its importance to the public through museum exhibits.

大多数动物表现出与生俱来的行为--这些行为受到遗传的强烈影响，并没有严格的教导或学习。这些先天行为可以进化，如果它们有助于表现出这种行为的个体的不同生殖成功。该项目的重点是研究基因变化如何导致两种小鼠之间先天穴居行为的差异。鹿鼠（Peromyscus maniculatus）建造只有一个入口隧道的小洞穴，而它们的姐妹物种，Oldfield小鼠（P. polionotus）建造了一个入口和一个逃生隧道的长洞穴。长长的入口隧道和额外的逃生隧道可能是为了避免在奥尔德菲尔德老鼠所占据的植被稀疏的栖息地捕食者的适应。通过杂交这两个物种，并检查杂交后代的行为与分子和统计工具，这项研究将回答两个主要问题：有多少和哪些基因有助于增加的长度和逃生隧道看到奥尔德菲尔德小鼠洞穴？初步结果表明，只有少数基因的变化可以解释大多数洞穴形状和大小的差异。总之，本研究的目的是剖析自然种群中小鼠的一种生态相关行为的遗传基础，深入了解这两个物种的穴居行为的遗传学基础，为研究遗传学和进化适应行为提供一个经验框架。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括：（1）让本科生参与研究，（2）通过博物馆展览向公众解释行为和遗传研究的方法及其重要性。