Comparative brain transcriptomic analyses of scouting across distinct behavioural and ecological contexts in honeybees

Individual differences in behaviour are often consistent across time and contexts, but it is not clear whether such consistency is reflected at the molecular level. We explored this issue by studying scouting in honeybees in two different behavioural and ecological contexts: finding new sources of floral food resources and finding a new nest site. Brain gene expression profiles in food-source and nest-site scouts showed a significant overlap, despite large expression differences associated with the two different contexts. Class prediction and ‘leave-one-out’ cross-validation analyses revealed that a bee''s role as a scout in either context could be predicted with 92.5% success using 89 genes at minimum. We also found that genes related to four neurotransmitter systems were part of a shared brain molecular signature in both types of scouts, and the two types of scouts were more similar for genes related to glutamate and GABA than catecholamine or acetylcholine signalling. These results indicate that consistent behavioural tendencies across different ecological contexts involve a mixture of similarities and differences in brain gene expression.     

HTR2A基因多态性与云南彝族酒精依赖关联性研究

目的：探讨酒精依赖和云南彝族5-羟色胺2A受体（HTR2A）基因多态之间的关系。方法：采用PCR-RFLP技术对330健康人（对照组）和110名酒精依赖者（病例组）的5-HT2A受体基因的遗传多态性进行检测。结果：在440例样本中共检测到2种等位基因A和G,三种基因型AA,AG,GG．三种基因型在对照组中频率分别是38．5％,55．8％,5．8％;在病例组中的频率分别是30％,63．6％,6．4％。结论：在云彝族人群中,HTR2A基因rs6311（A－1438G）位点与酒精依赖无显著关联,HTR2A基因rs6311（A-1438G）位点在云南汉族和云南彝族酒精依赖组中无显著差异,但是在健康对照组中存在关联性．     

Does genetic background moderate the association between parental education and school achievement?

This study was conducted with a purpose to examine whether the T102C polymorphism of the serotonin receptor 2A (HTR2A) gene moderates the association between parental education and children's school achievement across nine compulsory school years. The study was carried out in a population‐based sample of Finnish students (aged 9, 12 and 15 years, n = 982). It was found that the HTR2A gene was not related to the school achievement at any school level, but moderated the association between maternal education and the children's grade point averages. The T/T genotype carriers benefited most from high‐maternal education, and suffered from a low one more than the carriers of the other variants of the HTR2A gene. The present finding may at least partly answer the important question why academic outcomes of environmental interventions vary even at the same intelligence levels of the students.     

Effect of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in IGFBP2 and IGFBP3 Genes on Litter Size Traits in Berkshire Pigs

Litter size is among the most important traits in swine breeding. However, information on the genetics of litter size in pigs is lacking. In this study, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 and 3 (IGFBP2 and IGFBP3) genes in Berkshire pigs and analyzed their association with litter size traits. The IGFBP2 SNP was located on chromosome 15 intron 2 (455, A?>?T) and the IGFBP3 SNP was on chromosome 18 intron 2 (53, A?>?G). The AT type of IGFBP2 and the GG type of IGFBP3 had the highest values for all litter size traits including total number born (TNB), number of pigs born alive, and breeding value according to TNB. Homozygous GG pigs expressed higher levels of IGFBP3 mRNA in the endometrium than pigs of other genotypes, and a positive correlation was observed between litter size traits and IGFBP3 but not IGFBP2 expression level. These results suggest that SNPs in the IGFBP2 and the IGFBP3 gene are useful biomarkers for increasing the reproductive productivity of Berkshire pigs.     

Genetics of personalities: no simple answers for complex traits

Identifying the genes that underlie phenotypic variation in natural populations, and assessing the consequences of polymorphisms at these loci for individual fitness are major objectives in evolutionary biology. Yet, with the exception of a few success stories, little progress has been made, and our understanding of the link between genotype and phenotype is still in its infancy. For example, although body length in humans is largely genetically determined, with heritability estimates greater than 0.8, massive genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have only been able to account for a very small proportion of this variation ( Gudbjartsson et al. 2008 ). If it is so difficult to explain the genetics behind relatively ‘simple’ traits, can we envision that it will at all be possible to find genes underlying complex behavioural traits in wild non‐model organisms? Some notable examples suggest that this can indeed be a worthwhile endeavour. Recently, the circadian rhythm gene Clock has been associated with timing of breeding in a wild blue tit population ( Johnsen et al. 2007 ; Liedvogel et al. 2009 ) and the Pgi gene to variation in dispersal and flight endurance in Glanville fritillary butterflies ( Niitepold et al. 2009 ). A promising candidate gene for influencing complex animal personality traits, also known as behavioural syndromes ( Sih et al. 2004 ), is the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene. Within the last decade, polymorphisms in this gene have been associated with variation in novelty seeking and exploration behaviour in a range of species, from humans to great tits ( Schinka et al. 2002 ; Fidler et al. 2007 ). In this issue, Korsten et al. (2010) attempt to replicate this previously observed association in wild‐living birds, and test for the generality of the association between DRD4 and personality across a number of European great tit populations.     

The factor structure of horse personality

Abstract

Two hundred and ten owners or carers completed a specially modified version of the NEO-Personality Inventory-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-PI-FFI, a well established personality questionnaire for humans) for their chosen horse. Three and five-factor Principal Components Analysis (PCA) solutions are reported and compared with published studies on the factor structure of human personality. Participants were asked how confident they were in using each of the different Big Five scales in describing their horse: neuroticism and extraversion were rated with most confidence and openness to experience with least confidence. Taking both our own factors above and the NEO scales, some comparisons between the working roles of the horse were significant; for example, horses used for teaching were less extraverted than show jumpers. Sophistication of working role also related to personality; for example, international horses were less extraverted than novices. We conclude that the study provides some evidence for cross-species similarity in the structure of personality.     

Nucleotide variants in prion-related protein (testis-specific) gene (PRNT) and effects on Chinese and Mongolian sheep phenotypes

ABSTRACT

Studies of the ovine prion-related protein (testis-specific) gene (PRNT), including studies of genetic diversity, have highlighted its potential relationship to scrapie infection and economically important ovine traits. PRNT was previously reported to be highly polymorphic in Portuguese sheep. To characterize genetic polymorphisms in this gene in Asian sheep, a direct sequencing method was used to detect polymorphic loci in PRNT in 285 individual sheep from four Chinese and one Mongolian breeds. Seven SNP variants in PRNT were identified, including three novel variants (g.93G>A, g.162G>T, and g.190A>G) and four previously reported variants (g.17 C>T, g.112G>C, g.129C>T, and g.144A>G). In the five breeds that we analyzed, the mutation frequencies of g.190A>G in Lanzhou Fat-tail sheep (LFTS) and g.129C>T in the other four varieties were high (F>0.5). Moreover, thirteen different haplotypes that had a comparable distribution in the tested breeds were also identified; ‘C-G-G-C-A-G-A’ occurred at the highest frequency in the five sheep breeds. Additionally, we previously explored the significance of relationships between polymorphisms in PRNP or PRND and ovine growth performance. Here, we also performed correlation analysis in all tested loci. These loci polymorphisms were significantly associated with ten different growth traits (P<0.05), except for g.93G>A. Meanwhile, in contrast to a previous study, there was no significant association between the seven SNP loci analyzed and our previously reported sheep PRND or PRNP insertion/deletion mutations. Our findings may provide new insights into polymorphic variation in ovine PRNT, which may contribute to genetic improvements in economic traits that are important for sheep breeding.     

Four exons of the serotonin receptor 4 gene are associated with multiple distant branch points

Splicing of vertebrate introns involves recognition of three consensus elements at the 3′ end. The branch point (BP) and polypyrimidine tract (PPT) are usually located within 40 nucleotides (nt) of the 3′ splice site (3′ ss), AG, but can be much more distant. A characteristic of the region between distant BPs (dBPs) and the 3′ ss is the absence of intervening AG dinucleotides, leading to its designation as the “AG exclusion zone” (AGEZ). The human HTR4 gene, which encodes serotonin receptor 4 and has been associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disease, and gastrointestinal disorders, has four exons with extensive AGEZs. We have mapped the BPs for HTR4 exons 3, 4, 5, and g generated by in vitro splicing, and validated them by mutagenesis in exon-trapping vectors. All exons used dBPs up to 273 nt upstream of the exon. Strikingly, exons 4 and 5 used combinations of both distant and conventionally located BPs, suggesting that successful splicing of these exons can occur by distinct pathways. Our results emphasize the importance for single nucleotide polymorphism resequencing projects to take account of potential dBPs, as the extended AGEZs are vulnerable to mutations that could affect splicing itself or regulation of alternative splicing.     

OPRK1基因SNP与梅花鹿昼间行为性状的相关性

采用目标动物取样法(Focal Animal Sampling)对江苏省扬州市平山堂养殖场及扬州市动物园48只梅花鹿(Cervus nippon)的昼间行为进行观察,以Kappa阿片受体(Kappa Opoioid Receptor 1,OPRKl)为目的基因,采用单核苷酸多态性(Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms,SNPs)方法,利用引物P-5和P-9获得OPRK1基因的不同基因型,并将二者进行最小二乘均值的多重比较,以确定OPRK1基因SNP与梅花鹿昼间行为的相关性.结果表明,引物P-5各基因型间与修饰行为两两差异显著(P＜0.05),其它行为EE型和FF型差异显著(P＜0.05),而另外5种行为性状在各个基因型中没有检测到显著差异;引物P-9各基因型间卧息行为GG型和GH型个体行为之间存在极显著差异(P＜0.01),观望行为GG型、HH型和GH型3种基因型个体两两之间差异显著(P＜0.05),修饰行为HH型和另外两者差异显著(P＜0.05).研究表明,OPRK1基因多态性和梅花鹿昼间行为性状存在一定相关.