Benedek Ildikó, Urbányi Béla, Kovács Balázs, Lehoczky István, Zsolnai Attila, Molnár Tamás
Department of Animal Breeding, Institute of Animal Breeding Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-7400 Kaposvár, Hungary.
Albert Kázmér Faculty of Mosonmagyaróvár, University of Győr, Var Square 2., H-9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jul 29;15(15):2229. doi: 10.3390/ani15152229.
The relationship between genetic diversity and fitness is well understood, but few studies have investigated how behavior influences genetic diversity, or vice versa. We investigated the relationship between feeding behavior (on a pelleted diet) and genetic diversity in pikeperch, a piscivorous species.
A total of 135 juvenile pikeperch from the same stock were grouped into three behavioral groups: pellet consuming, pellet refusing, and cannibalistic. Eighteen microsatellite markers were used to characterize the genetic diversity and structure of individuals.
The juveniles were classified into two genetic clusters: one dominated by pellet-consuming individuals and the other by pellet-refusing individuals containing equal proportions of cannibal individuals. Three of the microsatellite markers were under selection, but only one showed significant genetic segregation between the groups. For this marker, the pellet consumption was associated with low fragment length. Individual multilocus heterozygosity was significantly higher in the pellet-refusing group.
These results suggest that pellet consumption acts as an uncontrolled selective force during domestication, influencing the genetic variability of domesticated populations. The ability to habituate to pellets has a significant genetic basis. Cannibalism does not affect genetic variability, and the emergence of the trait is independent of the propensity to consume pellets.
遗传多样性与适应性之间的关系已得到充分理解，但很少有研究调查行为如何影响遗传多样性，反之亦然。我们研究了以颗粒饲料为食的行为与白斑狗鱼（一种肉食性鱼类）遗传多样性之间的关系。
将来自同一群体的135条白斑狗鱼幼鱼分为三个行为组：摄食颗粒饲料组、拒食颗粒饲料组和自相残杀组。使用18个微卫星标记来表征个体的遗传多样性和结构。
幼鱼被分为两个遗传簇：一个以摄食颗粒饲料的个体为主，另一个以拒食颗粒饲料的个体为主，其中自相残杀个体的比例相等。三个微卫星标记处于选择状态，但只有一个在组间显示出显著的遗传分离。对于这个标记，颗粒饲料的摄食与较短的片段长度相关。拒食颗粒饲料组的个体多位点杂合度显著更高。
这些结果表明，在驯化过程中，颗粒饲料的摄食作为一种不受控制的选择力，影响了驯化种群的遗传变异性。适应颗粒饲料的能力具有显著的遗传基础。自相残杀不影响遗传变异性，该性状的出现与摄食颗粒饲料的倾向无关。
