Fitzpatrick Mark J, Ben-Shahar Yehuda, Smid Hans M, Vet Louise E M, Robinson Gene E, Sokolowski Marla B
Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada, L5L 1C6.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2005 Feb;20(2):96-104. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2004.11.017. Epub 2004 Dec 15.
In spite of millions of years of evolutionary divergence, the conservation of gene function is common across distant lineages. As such, genes that are known to influence behaviour in one organism are likely to influence similar behaviours in other organisms. Recent studies of the evolution of behaviour and morphological adaptation support this notion. Thus, the candidate gene approach offers great potential to expand our understanding of behavioural ecology. Changes in the expression of candidate genes can reveal their contribution to behavioural variation and/or phenotypic plasticity. Knowledge of gene function also enables experimental manipulation of behaviour in the lab and in the field. The candidate gene approach provides an accessible and useful tool for generating insights about animals that are not typically associated with genetic experimentation.
尽管经历了数百万年的进化分化，但基因功能的保守性在远缘谱系中很常见。因此，已知在一种生物中影响行为的基因很可能在其他生物中影响类似的行为。最近关于行为进化和形态适应的研究支持了这一观点。因此，候选基因方法为扩展我们对行为生态学的理解提供了巨大潜力。候选基因表达的变化可以揭示它们对行为变异和/或表型可塑性的贡献。基因功能的知识还能使我们在实验室和野外对行为进行实验操纵。候选基因方法为深入了解通常不与基因实验相关的动物提供了一种便捷且有用的工具。
