Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, Brazil.
Genes Brain Behav. 2022 Jun;21(5):e12812. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12812. Epub 2022 Jun 2.
Social monogamy is a reproductive strategy characterized by pair living and defense of a common territory. Pair bonding, sometimes displayed by monogamous species, is an affective construct that includes preference for a specific partner, distress upon separation, and the ability of the partner to buffer against stress. Many seahorse species show a monogamous social structure in the wild, but their pair bond has not been well studied. We examined the gene expression of lined seahorses (Hippocampus erectus) during and after the process of pairing in the laboratory as well as color change (luminance), a potential form of social communication and behavioral synchrony between pair mates. When a seahorse of either sex was interacting with its pair mate, their changes in luminance ("brightness") were correlated and larger than when interacting with an opposite-sex stranger. At the conclusion of testing, subjects were euthanized, RNA was extracted from whole brains and analyzed via RNA sequencing. Changes in gene expression in paired males versus those that were unpaired included processes governing metabolic activity, hormones and cilia. Perhaps most interesting is the overlap in gene expression change induced by pairing in both male seahorses and male prairie voles, including components of hormone systems regulating reproduction. Because of our limited sample size, we consider our results and interpretations to be preliminary, and prompts for further exploration. Future studies will expand upon these findings and investigate the neuroendocrine and genetic basis of these behaviors.
社会一夫一妻制是一种生殖策略，其特征是配偶共同生活和共同保卫领地。配偶结合，有时在一夫一妻制物种中表现出来，是一种情感结构，包括对特定伴侣的偏好、分离时的痛苦以及伴侣缓解压力的能力。许多海马物种在野外表现出一夫一妻制的社会结构，但它们的伴侣关系尚未得到充分研究。我们在实验室中检查了线纹海马（Hippocampus erectus）在配对过程中和配对后的基因表达情况，以及颜色变化（亮度），这是一种潜在的社会交流形式和伴侣之间的行为同步。当一只雄性或雌性海马与它的伴侣互动时，它们的亮度变化（“亮度”）是相关的，并且比与异性陌生人互动时更大。在测试结束时，对受试者进行安乐死，从整个大脑中提取 RNA 并通过 RNA 测序进行分析。配对雄性与未配对雄性之间的基因表达变化包括代谢活动、激素和纤毛的调节过程。最有趣的是，配对诱导的基因表达变化在雄性海马和雄性草原田鼠中重叠，包括调节生殖的激素系统的组成部分。由于我们的样本量有限，我们认为我们的结果和解释只是初步的，并为进一步探索提供了线索。未来的研究将扩展这些发现，并研究这些行为的神经内分泌和遗传基础。
