Castles made of sand: The genomics of complex behavior

描述(由申请人提供)：提出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并在大脑中连接的。使用一种新的自然脊椎动物系统，我们将追踪关键行为到它们的基因组根源。具体地说，我们将研究来自东非马拉维湖的雄性慈济鱼的先天‘弓’(生殖巢)结构。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，我们将量化弓箭鱼行为的要素，比较挖坑和建造城堡的叶蝉种类及其杂交后代。Aim 2将通过可视化反映神经活动的“即刻早期”基因的表达，绘制出男性弓箭行为期间招募的大脑区域。然后，这些大脑局部区域的转录差异将通过F1杂交雄性的等位基因特异性表达分析来量化，他们以物种特定行为的阶段性序列构建Bowers。AIM 3将通过对挖坑或建造城堡的肥胖F2个体的基因组进行重新测序，确定导致弓箭行为差异的基因组区域。我们的综合方法旨在解决目前不可能，或者充其量也就是很难在标准近亲繁殖模式生物中研究的问题。我们的策略是识别控制远交脊椎动物基本行为的神经回路的遗传控制，这将为人类行为多样性提供一个自然模型。

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.