Albert Frank W, Shchepina Olesya, Winter Christine, Römpler Holger, Teupser Daniel, Palme Rupert, Ceglarek Uta, Kratzsch Jürgen, Sohr Reinhard, Trut Lyudmila N, Thiery Joachim, Morgenstern Rudolf, Plyusnina Irina Z, Schöneberg Torsten, Pääbo Svante
Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
Horm Behav. 2008 Mar;53(3):413-21. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.11.010. Epub 2007 Nov 28.
To better understand the biology of tameness, i.e. tolerance of human presence and handling, we analyzed two lines of wild-derived rats (Rattus norvegicus) artificially selected for tameness and defensive aggression towards humans. In response to a gloved human hand, tame rats tolerated handling, whereas aggressive rats attacked. Cross-fostering showed that these behavioral differences are not caused by postnatal maternal effects. Tame rats were more active and explorative and exhibited fewer anxiety-related behaviors. They also had smaller adrenal glands, larger spleens and lower levels of serum corticosterone. Blood glucose levels were lower in tame rats, whereas the concentrations of nine amino acids were higher. In the brain, tame rats had lower serotonin and higher taurine levels than aggressive rats. Our findings reinforce the notion that tameness is correlated with differences in stress response and will facilitate future efforts to uncover the genetic basis for animal tameness.
为了更好地理解温顺的生物学特性，即对人类存在和处理的耐受性，我们分析了两系野生来源的大鼠（褐家鼠），它们是为温顺和对人类的防御性攻击而人工选择的。对于戴手套的人类之手，温顺的大鼠耐受处理，而攻击性大鼠则会攻击。交叉寄养表明，这些行为差异不是由产后母体效应引起的。温顺的大鼠更活跃、更具探索性，且表现出较少的焦虑相关行为。它们的肾上腺也较小，脾脏较大，血清皮质酮水平较低。温顺大鼠的血糖水平较低，而九种氨基酸的浓度较高。在大脑中，温顺大鼠的血清素水平低于攻击性大鼠，而牛磺酸水平则高于攻击性大鼠。我们的研究结果强化了这样一种观念，即温顺与应激反应的差异相关，并将有助于未来揭示动物温顺遗传基础的努力。
