Dopamine pathway is highly diverged in primate species that differ markedly in social behavior.

ABSTRACT: In the endeavor to associate genetic variation with complex traits, closely related taxa are particularly fruitful for understanding the neurophysiological and genetic underpinnings of species-specific attributes. Similarity to humans has motivated research into nonhuman primate models, yet few studies of wild primates have investigated immediate causal factors of evolutionarily diverged social behaviors. Neurotransmitter differences have been invoked to explain the distinct behavioral suites of two baboon species in Awash, Ethiopia, which differ markedly in social behavior despite evolutionary propinquity. With this natural experiment, we test the hypothesis that genomic regions associated with monoamine neurotransmitters would be highly differentiated, and we identify a dopamine pathway

SUBMITTER: Bergey CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4896724 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature