Studying convergent evolution to relate genotype to behavioral phenotype

Abstract

Neuroscience has a long, rich history in embracing unusual animals for research. Over the past several decades, there has been a technology-driven bottleneck in the species used for neuroscience research. However, an oncoming wave of technologies applicable to many animals hold promise for enabling researchers to address challenging scientific questions that cannot be solved using traditional laboratory animals. Here, we discuss how leveraging the convergent evolution of physiological or behavioral phenotypes can empower research mapping genotype to phenotype interactions. We present two case studies using electric fish and poison frogs and discuss how comparative work can teach us about evolutionary constraint and flexibility at various levels of biological organization. We also offer advice on the potential and pitfalls of establishing novel model systems in neuroscience research. Finally, we end with a discussion on the use of charismatic animals in neuroscience research and their utility in public outreach. Overall, we argue that convergent evolution frameworks can help identify generalizable principles of neuroscience.

Signal Diversification Is Associated with Corollary Discharge Evolution in Weakly Electric Fish

“…Recently, the genomic basis of EO anatomy and physiology is being increasingly well studied (Gallant et al, 2014;Gallant and O'Connell, 2020). It would be interesting if a central regulatory mechanism lead to correlated transcriptional changes in the EO and corollary discharge pathway.…”

“…These fish produce electric-pulse signals, termed electric organ discharge (EOD), that are used for electrolocation and communication (Hopkins, 1999;von der Emde, 1999). EOD waveforms are stereotyped but diverse among species and sometimes among individuals within species (Hopkins, 1981;Arnegard et al, 2010;Paul et al, 2015;Gallant and O'Connell, 2020).…”

Minimally invasive brain injections for viral-mediated transgenesis: New tools for behavioral genetics in sticklebacks

“…Overall, our experimental results show that viral-mediated transgenesis is a promising method for testing the function of candidate genes in this system. This approach has already proved essential in the functional testing of genes related to behavior [5,8,9] and in the dissection of neural circuits [10] in other organisms. treatment) significantly differed from saline-injected controls.…”

“…Moreover, viral-mediated delivery of constructs directly to the brain follows a timeline that is more conducive to behavioral studies in longer-lived animals. This approach has already proved essential in the functional testing of genes related to behavior [ 5 , 8 , 9 ] as well as in the dissection of neural circuits [ 10 ].…”

Signal diversification is associated with corollary discharge evolution in weakly electric fish

“…Recently, the genomic basis of EO anatomy and physiology is being increasingly well studied 508 (Gallant et al, 2014;Gallant and O'Connell, 2020). It would be interesting if a central regulatory 509 mechanism lead to correlated transcriptional changes in the EO and corollary discharge pathway.…”