<i>Agouti</i> integrates environmental information to regulate natural variation in paternal behavior.

ABSTRACT: Male investment in offspring rearing through paternal care is rare among mammals and the neural mechanisms governing its emergence are poorly understood. We leveraged the natural paternal behavior of African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) in combination with brain-wide cFos quantification, single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, viral-mediated gene manipulation, and environmental manipulation to dissect the neural basis of natural variation in male parenting. We find that socio-environmental conditions drive individual variation in male alloparenting such that post-weaning social isolation increases paternal care while social living in higher density groups increases infanticide. This natural variation in care corresponds to neural activity in the medial preoptic area and changes in correl

SUBMITTER: Rogers FD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12262229 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature