ABSTRACT: This experiment examined brain gene expression differences between females in primitively eusocial Polistes metricus paper wasps. Specifically, we compared expression patterns between groups of females that differed in their reproductive dominance status. We compared dominant and subordinate foundresses, dominant and subordinate workers, and egg-laying queens. The purpose was to investigate how the social environment and dominance status affect brain gene expression in individual females, and to compare these results to previous studies on dominance and aggression on other animals.
Project description:This experiment examined ovary gene expression differences between females in primitively eusocial Polistes metricus paper wasps. Specifically, we compared expression patterns between groups of females that differed in their reproductive dominance status. We compared dominant and subordinate foundresses, dominant and subordinate workers, and egg-laying queens. The purpose was to investigate how the social environment and dominance status affect ovary gene expression in individual females.
Project description:This experiment compared gene expression in individual brains of field collected Polistes metricus in four adult behavioral states: solitary foundresses, foraging workers, queens, and pre-overwintering gynes.
Project description:Dominance hierarchies of rainbow trout Trout form linear dominance hierarchies where there is a dominant, subdominant and subordinate. The dominant is the most aggressive, followed by the subdominant and the subordinate is the least dominant. Fish were scored on their aggressive performance to calculate position within the hierarchy, and once formed the hierarchies are very stable. Hypothesis: Gene expression is different in the brains of individuals with different dominance status. Six hierarchies containing a dominant, subdominant and subordinate were assessed behaviourally then killed and the brain removed. These were run in a reference based design. Hypothesis: On removal of the dominant the subdominant fish will become dominant and its transcript profile will become similar to the established dominant. The second experiment involved removing the dominant from an established hierarchy and then examining gene expression at 2hr, 48hr and 1 week in the new dominant.
Project description:Sperm competition theory predicts that males should tailor ejaculates according to their social status. Here we test this in a model vertebrate, the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus), combining experimental data with a quantitative proteomics analysis of seminal fluid composition. Our analyses reveal that both sperm production and the relative production of proteins found in seminal fluid differ according to social dominance. Notably, whereas dominant males produce and ejaculate more sperm, subordinate males produce greater relative amounts of key proteins used in the formation of copulatory plugs. These findings have important implications for understanding the dynamics and outcome of sperm competition.
Project description:Social plasticity is a pervasive feature of animal behavior. Animals adjust the expression of their social behavior to the daily changes in social life and to transitions between life-history stages, and the ability to change in these ways impacts their Darwinian fitness. This behavioral plasticity may be achieved either by rewiring or by biochemically switching nodes of the neural network underlying the social behavior in response to perceived social information. Independent of the proximate mechanisms, at the neuromolecular level social plasticity relies on the regulation of gene expression, such that different neurogenomic states emerge in response to different social stimuli and the switches between states are orchestrated by signaling pathways that interface the social environment and the genotype. Here, we test this hypothesis by characterizing the changes in the brain profile of gene expression in response to social odors in the Mozambique Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. This species has a rich repertoire of social behaviors during which both visual and chemical information are conveyed to conspecifics. Specifically, dominant males increase their urination frequency during agonist encounters and during courtship to convey chemical information reflecting their dominance status. We recorded electro-olfactograms to test the extent to which the olfactory epithelium can discriminate between olfactory information from dominant and subordinate males as well as from pre- and post-spawning females. We then performed a genome-scale gene expression analysis of the olfactory bulb and the olfactory cortex homolog in order to identify the neuromolecular systems involved in processing these social stimuli. Our results show that different olfactory stimuli from conspecificsM-bM-^@M-^Y have a major impact in the brain transcriptome, with different chemical social cues eliciting specific patterns of gene expression in the brain. These results confirm the role of rapid changes in gene expression in the brain as a genomic mechanism underlying behavioural plasticity and reinforce the idea of an extensive transcriptional plasticity of cichlid genomes, especially in response to rapid changes in their social environment. Brain samples from 40 African cichlid males, Oreochromis mossambicus were collected after stimulation with different social olfactory stimuli. Samples were collected from 2 brain areas: BO and Dp after males were exposed to dominant (DOM) and subordinate (SUB) male urine and pre- (PRE) and post-ovulatory (POST) female scent. In OB 5 replicates were collected from males exposed to DOM and 6 to the other stimuli. For Dp 5 replicates were collected from males exposed to DOM and POST, 4 to SUB and 6 to PRE.
Project description:Bovine granulosa cells harvested from cohort follicles at 1.3 days after wave emergence, and from dominant and subordinate follicles at 2.6 days after wave emergence. Total RNA extracted from granulosa cells of 4 cohort, 4 dominant and 4 subordinate follicles was pooled for generation of each respective SAGE library. Keywords: other
Project description:The naked mole-rat (NMR; Heterocephalus glaber) has recently gained considerable attention in the scientific community for its unique potential to unveil novel insights in the fields of medicine, biochemistry, and evolution. NMRs exhibit unique adaptations that include protracted fertility, cancer resistance, eusociality, and anoxia. This suite of adaptations is not found in other rodent species, suggesting that interrogating conserved and accelerated regions in the NMR genome will find regions of the NMR genome fundamental to their unique adaptations. However, the current NMR genome assembly has limits that make studying structural variations, heterozygosity, and non-coding adaptations challenging. We present a complete diploid naked-mole rat genome assembly by integrating long-read and 10X-linked read genome sequencing of a male NMR and its parents, and Hi-C sequencing in the NMR hypothalamus (N=2). Reads were identified as maternal, paternal or ambiguous (TrioCanu). We then polished genomes with Flye, Racon and Medaka. Assemblies were then scaffolded using the following tools in order: Scaff10X, Salsa2, 3d-DNA, Minimap2-alignment between assemblies, and the Juicebox Assembly Tools. We then subjected the assemblies to another round of polishing, including short-read polishing with Freebayes. We assembled the NMR mitochondrial genome with mitoVGP. Y chromosome contigs were identified by aligning male and female 10X linked reads to the paternal genome and finding male-biased contigs not present in the maternal genome. Contigs were assembled with publicly available male NMR Fibroblast Hi-C-seq data (SRR820318). Both assemblies have their sex chromosome haplotypes merged so that both assemblies have a high-quality X and Y chromosome. Finally, assemblies were evaluated with Quast, BUSCO, and Merqury, which all reported the base-pair quality and contiguity of both assemblies as high-quality. The assembly will next be annotated by Ensembl using public RNA-seq data from multiple tissues (SRP061363). Together, this assembly will provide a high-quality resource to the NMR and comparative genomics communities.
Project description:We investigated the gene regulatory network of the estrogen receptor in the preoptic region of dominant and subordinate male Astatotilapia burtoni. We compared dominant males receiving either an ER antagonist or vehicle control and seperately compared subordinate males receiving either an ER antagonist or control. 8.25% of all genes examined changed expression in DOMs in comparison to only 0.56% in SUBs.
Project description:We investigated the gene regulatory network of the estrogen receptor in the preoptic region of dominant and subordinate male Astatotilapia burtoni. We compared dominant males receiving either an ER antagonist or vehicle control and seperately compared subordinate males receiving either an ER antagonist or control. 8.25% of all genes examined changed expression in DOMs in comparison to only 0.56% in SUBs. Two separate loops (one for dominant males and one for subordinate males) with dye-swap containing 16 arrays each from 2 sources (an ER antagonist treated animal or a vehicle treated animal)