Ecological Trait Differences Are Associated with Gene Expression in the Primary Visual Cortex of Primates.

ABSTRACT: Primate species differ drastically from most other mammals in how they visually perceive their environments, which is particularly important for foraging, predator avoidance, and detection of social cues.

Background/objectives

Although it is well established that primates display diversity in color vision and various ecological specializations, it is not understood how visual system characteristics and ecological adaptations may be associated with gene expression levels within the primary visual cortex (V1).

Methods

We performed RNA-Seq on V1 tissue samples from 28 individuals, representing 13 species of primates, including hominoids, cercopithecoids, and platyrrhines. We explored trait-dependent differential expression (DE) by contrasting species with differing visual system

SUBMITTER: Zintel TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11855002 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature