Allele-specific cis-regulatory methylation of the gene for vasoactive intestinal peptide in white-throated sparrows.

ABSTRACT: White-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) offer a unique opportunity to connect genotype with behavioral phenotype. In this species, a rearrangement of the second chromosome is linked with territorial aggression; birds with a copy of this "supergene" rearrangement are more aggressive than those without it. The supergene has captured the gene VIP, which encodes vasoactive intestinal peptide, a neuromodulator that drives aggression in other songbirds. In white-throated sparrows, VIP expression is higher in the anterior hypothalamus of birds with the supergene than those without it, and expression of VIP in this region predicts the level of territorial aggression regardless of genotype. Here, we aimed to identify epigenetic mechanisms that could contribute to differential expression of

SUBMITTER: Prichard MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9744568 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature