Department of Zoology, Center for Animal Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
Mol Ecol. 2009 Nov;18(22):4680-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04361.x. Epub 2009 Oct 12.
Integrative studies of genetics, neurobiology and behaviour indicate that polymorphism in specific genes contributes to variation observed in some complex social behaviours. The neuropeptide arginine vasopressin plays an important role in the regulation of a variety of social behaviours, including social attachment of males to females, through its action on the vasopressin 1a receptor (V1aR). In socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), polymorphism in the length of microsatellite DNA within the regulatory region of the gene (avpr1a) encoding the V1aR predicts differences among males in neural expression of V1aRs and partner preference under laboratory conditions. However, understanding the extent to which V1aR mediates variation in prairie vole social and reproductive behaviour observed in nature requires investigating the consequences of avpr1a polymorphism and environmental influences under ecologically relevant conditions. We examined the relationship between avpr1a length polymorphism and monogamy among male prairie voles living in 0.1 ha enclosures during a time similar to their natural lifespan. We found no evidence that avpr1a genotype of males predicts variation in social monogamy measured in the field but some indices of social monogamy were affected by population density. Parentage data indicated that a male's avpr1a genotype significantly influenced the number of females with which he sired offspring and the total number of offspring sired. Total brain concentrations of V1aR mRNA were not associated with either male behaviour or avpr1a genotype. These data show that melding ecological field studies with neurogenetics can substantially augment our understanding of the effects of genes and environment on social behaviours.
综合遗传学、神经生物学和行为学的研究表明，特定基因的多态性导致了一些复杂社会行为的变异。神经肽精氨酸加压素通过其对血管加压素 1a 受体（V1aR）的作用，在多种社会行为的调节中发挥重要作用，包括雄性对雌性的社会依恋。在社会性一夫一妻制的草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）中，基因（avpr1a）调节区微卫星 DNA 长度的多态性预测了 V1aR 在实验室条件下雄性的神经表达和配偶偏好的差异。然而，要理解 V1aR 在多大程度上介导了草原田鼠自然状态下的社会和繁殖行为的变异，需要在生态相关条件下研究 avpr1a 多态性和环境影响的后果。我们研究了 avpr1a 长度多态性与生活在 0.1 公顷围栏中的雄性草原田鼠的一夫一妻制之间的关系，这一时间与它们的自然寿命相似。我们没有发现证据表明雄性的 avpr1a 基因型预测了野外测量的社会一夫一妻制的变异，但一些社会一夫一妻制的指标受到了种群密度的影响。亲子关系数据表明，雄性的 avpr1a 基因型显著影响了他与哪些雌性生育后代的数量以及他生育的总后代数量。V1aR mRNA 的总脑浓度与雄性行为或 avpr1a 基因型均无关联。这些数据表明，将生态野外研究与神经遗传学相结合，可以大大增强我们对基因和环境对社会行为影响的理解。
