Combined epigenetic and intraspecific variation of the DRD4 and SERT genes influence novelty seeking behavior in great tit Parus major.

ABSTRACT: DNA methylation is one of the main epigenetic mechanisms that can regulate gene expression and is an important means for creating phenotypic variation. In the present study, we performed methylation profiling of 2 candidate genes for personality traits, namely DRD4 and SERT, in the great tit Parus major to ascertain whether personality traits and behavior within different habitats have evolved with the aid of epigenetic variation. We applied bisulphite PCR and strand-specific sequencing to determine the methylation profile of the CpG dinucleotides in the DRD4 and SERT promoters and also in the CpG island overlapping DRD4 exon 3. Furthermore, we performed pyrosequencing to quantify the total methylation levels at each CpG location. Our results indicated that methylation was ∼1-4% higher in

SUBMITTER: Riyahi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4622863 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature