Castles made of sand: The genomics of complex behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的合作研究的目标是了解不同的社会行为是如何在基因组中编码和在大脑中连接的。使用一种新的自然脊椎动物系统，我们将追踪关键行为的基因组根源。具体而言，我们将研究先天的“凉亭”（生殖巢）建设的男性慈鲷鱼马拉维湖，东非。这种行为是雄性和雌性之间社会和生殖互动的重要组成部分。在目标1中，我们将量化的元素bower行为，比较坑挖与城堡建设慈鲷物种和他们的F1杂交。目标2将通过可视化反映神经活动的“立即早期”基因的表达来绘制男性鞠躬行为期间招募的大脑区域。在这些局灶性脑区的转录分歧，然后将量化等位基因特异性表达分析在F1杂交雄性，谁构建bowers在一个分阶段序列的物种特异性行为。目标3将通过对挖坑或建造城堡的庞大F2个体的基因组进行重新测序，确定基因组中负责凉亭行为差异的区域。我们的综合方法旨在解决目前不可能解决的问题，或者充其量难以在标准近交模式生物中研究。我们的策略，以确定遗传控制的神经回路调节基本行为的远交脊椎动物将提供一个自然的模型，人类行为的多样性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed collaborative research is to understand how distinct social behaviors are encoded in the genome and wired in the brain. Using a novel natural vertebrate system we will trace key behaviors to their genomic roots. Specifically, we will study innate 'bower' (reproductive nest) construction by male cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi, East Africa. This behavior is an essential part of social and reproductive interactions between males and females. In Aim 1, we will quantify the elements of bower behavior, comparing pit-digging vs. castle-building cichlid species and their F1 hybrids. Aim 2 will map brain regions recruited during male bower behavior by visualizing the expression of "immediate early" genes that reflect neural activity. Transcriptional divergence in these focal brain regions will then be quantified by allele-specific expression analysis in F1 hybrid males, who construct bowers in a phased sequence of species-specific behaviors. Aim 3 will identify regions of the genome responsible for differences in bower behavior by re-sequencing the genomes of bulked F2 individuals who either dig pits or build castles. Our integrative approach is designed to solve problems that are currently impossible, or at best difficult to study in standard inbred model organisms. Our strategy to identify the genetic control of neural circuits regulating essential behaviors in outbred vertebrates will provide a natural model of human behavioral diversity.