Inheritance of Acquired Behaviour Adaptations and Brain Gene Expression in Chickens

Nätt, Daniel; Lindqvist, Niclas; Stranneheim, Henrik; Lundeberg, Joakim; Torjesen, Peter A.; Jensen, Per

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006405

Cited by 71 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In a number of experiments, we have exposed chickens to stress at different time periods during their lives (Goerlich et al, 2012;Lindqvist et al, 2007;Nätt et al, 2009). Generally, this caused permanent changes in both spatial and associative learning, as well as in foraging patterns and social dominance.…”

Section: Stress and Fear -Central Components Of Domesticationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adding ‘epi-’ to behaviour genetics: implications for animal domestication

Jensen

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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In this review, it is argued that greatly improved understanding of domestication may be gained from extending the field of behaviour genetics to also include epigenetics. Domestication offers an interesting framework of rapid evolutionary changes caused by welldefined selection pressures. Behaviour is an important phenotype in this context, as it represents the primary means of response to environmental challenges. An overview is provided of the evidence for genetic involvement in behavioural control and the presently used methods for finding so-called behaviour genes. This shows that evolutionary changes in behaviour are to a large extent correlated to changes in patterns of gene expression, which brings epigenetics into the focus. This area is concerned with the mechanisms controlling the timing and extent of gene expression, and a lot of focus has been placed on methylation of cytosine in promoter regions, usually associated with genetic downregulation. The review considers the available evidence that environmental input, for example stress, can modify methylation and other epigenetic marks and subsequently affect behaviour. Furthermore, several studies are reviewed, demonstrating that acquired epigenetic modifications can be inherited and cause trans-generational behaviour changes. In conclusion, epigenetics may signify a new paradigm in this respect, as it shows that genomic modifications can be caused by environmental signals, and random mutations in DNA sequence are therefore not the only sources of heritable genetic variation.

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Section: Stress and Fear -Central Components Of Domesticationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adding ‘epi-’ to behaviour genetics: implications for animal domestication

Jensen

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Another key step will be to identify these epigenetic marks and quantify their inheritance. Indeed, a pioneer study revealed the inheritance of acquired behavior adaptation to unpredictable food access in chickens that could be because of variations in chromatine structure (Nätt et al, 2009).…”

Section: Exploiting Animal Adaptive Capacitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forty research issues for the redesign of animal production systems in the 21st century

Dumont

García

Thomas

et al. 2014

Animal

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Agroecology offers a scientific and operational framework for redesigning animal production systems (APS) so that they better cope with the coming challenges. Grounded in the stimulation and valorization of natural processes to reduce inputs and pollutions in agroecosystems, it opens a challenging research agenda for the animal science community. In this paper, we identify key research issues that define this agenda. We first stress the need to assess animal robustness by measurable traits, to analyze trade-offs between production and adaptation traits at within-breed and between-breed level, and to better understand how group selection, epigenetics and animal learning shape performance. Second, we propose research on the nutritive value of alternative feed resources, including the environmental impacts of producing these resources and their associated non-provisioning services. Third, we look at how the design of APS based on agroecological principles valorizes interactions between system components and promotes biological diversity at multiple scales to increase system resilience. Addressing such challenges requires a collection of theories and models (concept-knowledge theory, viability theory, companion modeling, etc.). Acknowledging the ecology of contexts and analyzing the rationales behind traditional small-scale systems will increase our understanding of mechanisms contributing to the success or failure of agroecological practices and systems. Fourth, the large-scale development of agroecological products will require analysis of resistance to change among farmers and other actors in the food chain. Certifications and market-based incentives could be an important lever for the expansion of agroecological alternatives in APS. Finally, we question the suitability of current agriculture extension services and public funding mechanisms for scaling-up agroecological practices and systems.

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“…Some acute events, in addition to physical restraint, have been shown to induce a stress response in chickens, for example heat stress [27][28][29] and unpredictable light regimes [30]. Restraint stress however is a well-established method for triggering a stress response in chickens (see for example [29,31,32] ) where also the HPA-axis recovery has been investigated [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestication effects on behavioural and hormonal responses to acute stress in chickens

Ericsson

Fallahsharoudi

Bergquist

et al. 2014

Physiology & Behavior

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Comparative studies have shown that alterations in physiology, morphology and behaviour have arisen due to the domestication. A driving factor behind many of the changes could be a shift in stress responses, with modified endocrine and behavioural profiles. In the present study we compared two breeds of chicken (Gallus gallus), the domestic White Leghorn (WL) egg laying breed and its ancestor, the Red Junglefowl (RJF). Birds were exposed to an acute stress event, invoked by three or ten minutes of physical restraint. They were then continuously monitored for the effects on a wide range of behaviours during a 60 min recovery phase. Blood samples were collected from the chicken at baseline, and after 10 and 60 min following a similar restraint stress, and the samples were analyzed for nine endogenous steroids of the HPA and HPG axis. Concentration of the steroids was determined using validated liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods. In RJF, an immediate behavioural response was observed after release from restraint in several behaviours, with a relatively fast return to baseline within one hour. In WL, some behaviours were affected for a longer period of time, and others not at all. Concentrations of corticosterone increased more in RJF, but returned faster to baseline compared to WL. A range of baseline levels for HPG-related steroids differed between the breeds, and they were generally more affected by the stress in WL than in RJF. In conclusion, RJF reacted stronger both behaviourally and physiologically to the restraint stress, but also recovered faster. This would appear to be adaptive under natural conditions, whereas the stress recovery of domesticated birds has been altered by domestication and breeding for increased reproductive output.

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Inheritance of Acquired Behaviour Adaptations and Brain Gene Expression in Chickens

Cited by 71 publications

References 41 publications

Adding ‘epi-’ to behaviour genetics: implications for animal domestication

Adding ‘epi-’ to behaviour genetics: implications for animal domestication

Forty research issues for the redesign of animal production systems in the 21st century

Domestication effects on behavioural and hormonal responses to acute stress in chickens

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