Survey of neurotransmitter receptor gene expression into and out of parental care in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the genetic influences of traits of nonmodel organisms is crucial to understanding how novel traits arise. Do new traits require new genes or are old genes repurposed? How predictable is this process? Here, we examine this question for gene expression influencing parenting behavior in a beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Parental care, produced from many individual behaviors, should be influenced by changes of expression of multiple genes, and one suggestion is that the genes can be predicted based on knowledge of behavior expected to be precursors to parental care, such as aggression, resource defense, and mating on a resource. Thus, testing gene expression during parental care allows us to test expectations of this "precursor hypothesis" for multiple genes and traits.

SUBMITTER: Cunningham CB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8525115 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature