Applying gene regulatory network logic to the evolution of social behavior

Baran, Nicole M.; McGrath, Patrick T.; Streelman, J. Todd

doi:10.1073/pnas.1610621114

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…To guide our exploration of bGRNs, we draw inspiration from the field of developmental biology, because metazoan GRNs are perhaps best understood in the context of development (16,17). Developmental biology has already produced mature descriptions and theories of developmental GRNs ("dGRNs") and also have inspired other researchers studying brain and behavior (18,19). Moreover, there are deep connections between development and behavior, as we discuss below, and this also provides a strong framework for comparative analysis.…”

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confidence: 99%

Behavior-related gene regulatory networks: A new level of organization in the brain

Sinha

Jones

Traniello

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Neuronal networks are the standard heuristic model today for describing brain activity associated with animal behavior. Recent studies have revealed an extensive role for a completely distinct layer of networked activities in the brain—the gene regulatory network (GRN)—that orchestrates expression levels of hundreds to thousands of genes in a behavior-related manner. We examine emerging insights into the relationships between these two types of networks and discuss their interplay in spatial as well as temporal dimensions, across multiple scales of organization. We discuss properties expected of behavior-related GRNs by drawing inspiration from the rich literature on GRNs related to animal development, comparing and contrasting these two broad classes of GRNs as they relate to their respective phenotypic manifestations. Developmental GRNs also represent a third layer of network biology, playing out over a third timescale, which is believed to play a crucial mediatory role between neuronal networks and behavioral GRNs. We end with a special emphasis on social behavior, discuss whether unique GRN organization and cis-regulatory architecture underlies this special class of behavior, and review literature that suggests an affirmative answer.

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confidence: 99%

Behavior-related gene regulatory networks: A new level of organization in the brain

Sinha

Jones

Traniello

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…However, this observation has not been extended to artificial gene regulatory networks with more complex genetic representations. Also,Baran et al recently proposed the use of AGRNs to study the evolution of social behavior and, more precisely, the underlying development of the brain's neural circuitry[8]. This opens new perspectives for studies of the connection between artificial neural networks and artificial gene regulatory networks.Two other properties of AGRNs that are, in our opinion, particularly interesting and not yet fully used and understood are temporal dynamics and heterochrony.…”

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confidence: 99%

Artificial Gene Regulatory Networks—A Review

2019

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In nature, gene regulatory networks are a key mediator between the information stored in the DNA of living organisms (their genotype) and the structural and behavioral expression this finds in their bodies, surviving in the world (their phenotype). They integrate environmental signals, steer development, buffer stochasticity, and allow evolution to proceed. In engineering, modeling and implementations of artificial gene regulatory networks have been an expanding field of research and development over the past few decades. This review discusses the concept of gene regulation, describes the current state of the art in gene regulatory networks, including modeling and simulation, and reviews their use in artificial evolutionary settings. We provide evidence for the benefits of this concept in natural and the engineering domains.

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“…New and powerful technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9, single-cell RNA sequencing, computer vision, and optogenetics enable investigation of the biological mechanisms of social behavior in diverse species at unprecedented levels of precision. Decreasing costs of high-throughput and next-generation “omics” sequencing technologies and advances in bioinformatics have created opportunities for gene regulatory network analyses and large scale comparative genomic and transcriptomic investigations of social behavior across species (Baran et al, 2017). Taken together, these ongoing trends will continue to increase the cost-effectiveness and potential impact of prioritizing neurogenetic investigations in new and diverse species.…”

Section: Modern Tools For Investigating Social Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary diversity as a catalyst for biological discovery

Johnson

Young

2018

Integrative Zoology

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The tremendous diversity of animal behaviors has inspired generations of scientists from an array of biological disciplines. To complement investigations of ecological and evolutionary factors contributing to behavioral evolution, modern sequencing, gene editing, computational and neuroscience tools now provide a means to discover the proximate mechanisms upon which natural selection acts to generate behavioral diversity. Social behaviors are motivated behaviors that can differ tremendously between closely related species, suggesting phylogenetic plasticity in their underlying biological mechanisms. In addition, convergent evolution has repeatedly given rise to similar forms of social behavior and mating systems in distantly related species. Social behavioral divergence and convergence provides an entry point for understanding the neurogenetic mechanisms contributing to behavioral diversity. We argue that the greatest strides in discovering mechanisms contributing to social behavioral diversity will be achieved through integration of interdisciplinary comparative approaches with modern tools in diverse species systems. We review recent advances and future potential for discovering mechanisms underlying social behavioral variation; highlighting patterns of social behavioral evolution, oxytocin and vasopressin neuropeptide systems, genetic/transcriptional "toolkits," modern experimental tools, and alternative species systems, with particular emphasis on Microtine rodents and Lake Malawi cichlid fishes.

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Applying gene regulatory network logic to the evolution of social behavior

Cited by 27 publications

References 99 publications

Behavior-related gene regulatory networks: A new level of organization in the brain

Behavior-related gene regulatory networks: A new level of organization in the brain

Artificial Gene Regulatory Networks—A Review

Evolutionary diversity as a catalyst for biological discovery

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