Genotype-dependent responses to levels of sibling competition over maternal resources in mice

Hager, Reinmar; Cheverud, James M.; Wolf, Jason B.

doi:10.1038/hdy.2011.115

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Intercross populations can be used for genome-wide scans for loci showing imprinting patterns (Mantey et al, 2005; Cheverud et al, 2008; Wolf et al, 2008a; Hager et al, 2012a,b; Kärst et al, 2012). They are produced by breeding two parental mouse strains to obtain an F2 generation and then breeding this F2 generation to produce an F3 generation, which has a number of recombinations.…”

Section: Empirical Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empirical testing of hypotheses about the evolution of genomic imprinting in mammals

Ashbrook¹,

Hager²

2013

Front. Neuroanat.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The close interaction between mother and offspring in mammals is thought to contribute to the evolution of genomic imprinting or parent-of-origin dependent gene expression. Empirical tests of theories about the evolution of imprinting have been scant for several reasons. Models make different assumptions about the traits affected by imprinted genes and the scenarios in which imprinting is predicted to have been selected for. Thus, competing hypotheses cannot readily be tested against each other. Further, it is far from clear how predictions about expression patterns of genes with specific phenotypic effects can be tested given current methodology of assaying gene expression levels, be it in the brain or in other tissues. We first set out a scenario for testing competing hypotheses and delineate the different assumptions and predictions of models. We then outline how predictions may be tested using mouse models such as intercrosses or recombinant inbred (RI) systems that can be phenotyped for traits relevant to imprinting theories. Further, we briefly discuss different molecular approaches that may be used in conjunction with experiments to ascertain expression patterns of imprinted genes and thus the testing of predictions.

show abstract

Section: Empirical Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empirical testing of hypotheses about the evolution of genomic imprinting in mammals

Ashbrook¹,

Hager²

2013

Front. Neuroanat.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Using genetic and genomics tools we can explore the genetic basis of complex behavioural phenotypes and life history traits and how much of their variation is due to genetic variation versus environmental variation (e.g. Hager et al, 2012). The field of epigenetics (investigating phenotypic variation not caused by genetic variation but by differences in gene expression) has already had a major impact on our understanding of conflict between the sexes over provisioning and the role of imprinted genes in conflict resolution (Burt and Trivers, 2006).…”

Section: Future Research In Behavioural Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural Ecology

Hager

Gini

2012

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Based in part on the previous version of this eLS article 'Behavioural Ecology' (2005) by Reinmar Hager.Behavioural ecology investigates how animal behaviour is adapted to the physical and social environment of individuals. Over the past 40 years behavioural ecology has been established as a field of research in which both empirical and theoretical studies analyse how evolution has shaped animal behaviour through the process of natural selection. The underlying premise is that individuals adopt strategies (behaviours) that maximise their fitness, that is, the contribution of their genes to future populations. Behavioural ecology seeks to understand why a specific behaviour confers a fitness advantage to an individual given a set of ecological and social conditions. The adoption of methods from genetics, physiology, bioinformatics and developmental biology has greatly expanded the tool kit with which questions in behavioural ecology are addressed. What is Behavioural Ecology?Behavioural ecology is a branch of the biological sciences that deals with questions about the adaptive value of behaviour. Behavioural patterns are viewed as a result of natural selection, which have evolved in relation to the physical and social environment in which animals live. Thus, behaviour, like any other trait, evolves to maximise individual fitness. Research in behavioural ecology emerged over 40 years ago based on concepts from the fields of ethology (the study of behaviour), population genetics and ecology by rigorously applying the concept of natural selection in particular and evolutionary biology in general to the study of behaviour. See also: Fitness Tinbergen's four questions about behaviourTo understand the kind of questions about animal behaviour that behavioural ecologists focus on we need to consider the overall range of questions that could possibly be asked. In 1963 Nikolaas Tinbergen published his seminal paper on the aims and methods of ethology in which he defined four major questions in biology (Tinbergen, 1963). These are known as the four ways of asking why an animal behaves in a specific manner: (1) What underlying mechanism causes this behaviour? (proximate questions); (2) What is the survival value to the individual? (ultimate questions); (3) How did this behaviour evolve over time (evolution)? and (4) How does such behaviour develop during an individual's lifetime (ontogeny)? Proximate and ultimate questions represent different ways of addressing the issue of why an animal behaves in a certain way and are not mutually exclusive. Most studies in behavioural ecology, and in particular early works, have focused on answering ultimate questions. The migration of birds exemplifies this point. If we ask why birds migrate, the proximate answer might be that the change in daylight triggers migratory behaviour through activation of hormone production. An ultimate answer to that question would focus on the fitness benefits gained from increased food availability and avoidance of adverse weather conditions in northern cl...

show abstract

Genomic imprinting and genetic effects on muscle traits in mice

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundGenomic imprinting refers to parent-of-origin dependent gene expression caused by differential DNA methylation of the paternally and maternally derived alleles. Imprinting is increasingly recognized as an important source of variation in complex traits, however, its role in explaining variation in muscle and physiological traits, especially those of commercial value, is largely unknown compared with genetic effects.ResultsWe investigated both genetic and genomic imprinting effects on key muscle traits in mice from the Berlin Muscle Mouse population, a key model system to study muscle traits. Using a genome scan, we first identified loci with either imprinting or genetic effects on phenotypic variation. Next, we established the proportion of phenotypic variation explained by additive, dominance and imprinted QTL and characterized the patterns of effects. In total, we identified nine QTL, two of which show large imprinting effects on glycogen content and potential, and body weight. Surprisingly, all imprinting patterns were of the bipolar type, in which the two heterozygotes are different from each other but the homozygotes are not. Most QTL had pleiotropic effects and explained up to 40% of phenotypic variance, with individual imprinted loci accounting for 4-5% of variation alone.ConclusionSurprisingly, variation in glycogen content and potential was only modulated by imprinting effects. Further, in contrast to general assumptions, our results show that genomic imprinting can impact physiological traits measured at adult stages and that the expression does not have to follow the patterns of paternal or maternal expression commonly ascribed to imprinting effects.

show abstract

Genotype-dependent responses to levels of sibling competition over maternal resources in mice

Cited by 4 publications

References 39 publications

Empirical testing of hypotheses about the evolution of genomic imprinting in mammals

Empirical testing of hypotheses about the evolution of genomic imprinting in mammals

Behavioural Ecology

Genomic imprinting and genetic effects on muscle traits in mice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About