Project 9: Inter-module integration - plasticity and robustness in brain and behavior (Hofmann) (#51-55)We explored the molecular basis of neural and behavioral plasticity in the African cichlid fish Astatotilapiaburtoni. The males make regular transitions between territorial ('macho') and non-territorial ('wimp') forms,and we used a combination of behavioral observation and microarray analysis to map the genetic modulesresponsible for these dramatic behavioral and physiological transitions. We made a cDNA microarraycontaining 18,000 features from an estimated 8,000 genes21 and made arrays, DMA sequences, and theassociated database freely available (http://cichlid.biosci.utexas.edu/html/cichlid genomics.html). an effort thatsparked an NHGRI-approved initiative to sequence four cichlid genomes. Whole-brain expression profiling inindividuals of known social status led us to perform detailed analysis on small groups of cells microdissectedfrom the preoptic area of the hypothalamus. Examining gene expression in territorial and non-territorial malesand correlating it with behavioral and physiological markers showed that genes can be grouped into a smallnumber of modules, clusters where gene expression is highly correlated, and that expression of the modulescorrelates strongly with phenotypic traits. The relationships between the modules are interesting and complex.For example, aggressive and sexual behavior drive expression in opposite directions, echoing a theme fromclassical ethology, but both types of changes are inhibited by the acute stress response. We focused on therole of somatostatin and showed that this ancient peptide has a role in regulating aggressive behavior22.The cichlid fish have speciated explosively, and many different traits have appeared independently in separatelineages. We correlated ecological, behavioral, and neuroanatomical data for a single closely related clade (theEctodini) and reached the conclusion that selection can act independently and rapidly on different regions ofthe brain, a finding that has direct relevance for the recent evolution of the human brain23. Hans Hofmann, thePI was a Bauer Fellow and is now Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology at UT-Austin.
| Westerman, Erica L; VanKuren, Nicholas W; Massardo, Darli et al. (2018) Aristaless Controls Butterfly Wing Color Variation Used in Mimicry and Mate Choice. Curr Biol 28:3469-3474.e4 |
| Bonham, Kevin S; Wolfe, Benjamin E; Dutton, Rachel J (2017) Extensive horizontal gene transfer in cheese-associated bacteria. Elife 6: |
| Hormoz, Sahand; Singer, Zakary S; Linton, James M et al. (2016) Inferring Cell-State Transition Dynamics from Lineage Trees and Endpoint Single-Cell Measurements. Cell Syst 3:419-433.e8 |
| Renn, Suzy C P; O'Rourke, Cynthia F; Aubin-Horth, Nadia et al. (2016) Dissecting the Transcriptional Patterns of Social Dominance across Teleosts. Integr Comp Biol 56:1250-1265 |
| Kastman, Erik K; Kamelamela, Noelani; Norville, Josh W et al. (2016) Biotic Interactions Shape the Ecological Distributions of Staphylococcus Species. MBio 7: |
| Lavrentovich, Maxim O; Wahl, Mary E; Nelson, David R et al. (2016) Spatially Constrained Growth Enhances Conversional Meltdown. Biophys J 110:2800-2808 |
| Battle, Christopher; Broedersz, Chase P; Fakhri, Nikta et al. (2016) Broken detailed balance at mesoscopic scales in active biological systems. Science 352:604-7 |
| Tamari, Zvi; Yona, Avihu H; Pilpel, Yitzhak et al. (2016) Rapid evolutionary adaptation to growth on an 'unfamiliar' carbon source. BMC Genomics 17:674 |
| Kim, Wook; Levy, Stuart B; Foster, Kevin R (2016) Rapid radiation in bacteria leads to a division of labour. Nat Commun 7:10508 |
| Muller, Nicolas; Piel, Matthieu; Calvez, Vincent et al. (2016) A Predictive Model for Yeast Cell Polarization in Pheromone Gradients. PLoS Comput Biol 12:e1004795 |
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