Despite the extraordinary diversity of behavior across the animal kingdom, the genes and molecules that contribute to such natural diversity are largely unknown. In this thesis, I leverage the dramatic divergence in behavior between two closely related species of deer mice (genus Peromyscus) to investigate the genetic, cellular, and neuroendocrine basis of behavior.
In chapter 2, I show that the monogamous oldfield mouse (Peromyscus polionotus subgriseus) has evolved a novel cell type in the adrenal gland that expresses the enzyme AKR1C18, which converts progesterone into 20α-hydroxyprogesterone (20α-OHP). I then demonstrate that 20α-OHP is more abundant in oldfield mice than in the closely-related promiscuous prairie deer mouse (P. maniculatus bairdii) and that it increases monogamous-typical parental behaviors when administered to both monogamous fathers. Using quantitative trait locus mapping in a cross between these species, I discover interspecific genetic variation that drives expression of the glycoprotein tenascin N and ultimately contributes to gain of adrenal AKR1C18 expression in oldfield mice.
In chapter 3, I investigate the genetic architecture underlying the striking difference in exploratory behavior between prairie deer mice and oldfield mice. Through congenic fine-mapping, I identify a 15-Mb locus that strongly contributes to species differences in exploratory behavior. I then investigate the potential contributions of one of the 18 genes in the locus, Olfm4, which harbors cis-regulatory variants that drives its expression in the oldfield hypothalamus. Taken together, my research advances our understanding of the genetic and molecular causes that drive rapid behavioral divergence between species.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:columbia.edu/oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/m7gy-0655 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Niepoth, Natalie Wagner |
| Source Sets | Columbia University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Theses |
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