Song complexity in Bengalese finches: Does the neural crest cell hypothesis for domestication acount for that?

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14581
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Evolutionary biology
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: OKANOYA Kazuo 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 教授 (30211121)
• Research Collaborator: TOBARI Yasuko 麻布大学, 獣医学部動物応用科学科, 講師 (90453919)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 神経堤細胞仮説 / 家畜化 / ジュウシマツ / コシジロキンパラ / 攻撃性 / 白化 / 扁桃体 / 家禽化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Domesticated animals have shared properties of shorter head, weaker agressiveness, white spots, and higher stress registance. A hypothesis that can inclusively explain these characteristics is "neural crest" hypothesis of domestication. Because domesticaion selected less agressivness, neural crest cells that are involved in forming adrenal medulla which sythesizes corticosterone, migrate slower than wild types. This could resulted in phenotypes related with domestcation, because all phenotypes are related with neural crest cells. Bengalese finches had been domesticated over 250 years from wild white-rumped munias imported from China. We examined whether differences between the two strains might fit with the neural crest hypothesis. Although stress registance, white-spots, and telencephalic song control areas could be explained by the neural crest hypothesis, bill shapes, body size, and amygdala volue did not fit with the hypothesis.

Free Research Field

生物心理学、進化生物学