Molecular mechanisms and the conflict between courtship and aggression in three-spined sticklebacks

作者：Sanogo Yibayiri O; Bell Alison M^*

来源：Molecular Ecology, 2016, 25(17): 4368-4376.

DOI：10.1111/mec.13766

• behavioural syndrome
• Gasterosteus aculeatus
• gene expression
• limited plasticity
• microarray
• sociogenomics
• territoriality

In nature, animals often face conflicting demands. For example, breeding males must attract a mate but at the same time be ready to defend against rivals. The molecular mechanisms by which the brain resolves behavioural trade-offs are largely unknown. In this study, we compared the brain transcriptional responses of territorial male three-spined sticklebacks to a mating opportunity with a female and to a territorial challenge by a rival male. We focused on the diencephalon and the cerebellum, two regions of the brain implicated in courtship and aggression. There was a set of genes that were differentially expressed in response to both a courtship opportunity and a territorial challenge. Closer inspection of the direction of regulation revealed that genes that were downregulated in response to a courtship opportunity were upregulated in response to a territorial challenge and vice versa. Our study reveals some of the potential molecular mechanisms underlying behavioural trade-offs between sex and aggression, along with a possible solution to the conflict via social context-dependent gene regulation.

• 出版日期2016-9