Divergence in expression of a singing-related neuroplasticity gene in the brains of 2 Ficedula flycatchers and their hybrids.

ABSTRACT: Species-specific sexual traits facilitate species-assortative mating by reducing mating across species and reducing hybrid sexual attractiveness. For learned sexual traits, such as song in oscine birds, species distinctiveness can be eroded when species co-occur. Transcriptional regulatory divergence in brain regions involved in sensory learning is hypothesized to maintain species distinctiveness, but relatively few studies have compared gene expression in relevant brain regions between closely related species. Species differences in song are an important premating reproductive barrier between the collared (Ficedula albicollis) and pied flycatcher (F. hypoleuca). Here, we compare brain gene expression in adult males from each species and their naturally occurring F1 hybrids. We report over

SUBMITTER: Wheatcroft D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11797017 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature