Analyses of behavior incompatibility triggered by expression changes of pigmentation genes

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Correlative gene system: establishing next-generation genetics
• Project/Area Number: 23113008
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan University (2012-2015); National Institute of Genetics (2011)
• Principal Investigator: Takahashi Aya 首都大学東京, 理工学研究科, 准教授 (90370121)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): OSADA Naoki 北海道大学, 情報科学研究科, 准教授 (70416270)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 体色変異 / 性行動 / ドーパミン代謝系 / 多面発現 / ショウジョウバエ / 種分化 / シス遺伝子発現制御 / トランス遺伝子発現制御

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study focused on dopamine biosynthesis pathway genes, which has a pleiotropic effect on both body pigmentation and behavior, as genes potentially involved in reproductive isolation triggered by environmental adaptation. We found unexpectedly complex cis-regulatory polymorphisms in these genes and a genetic variant that is likely to change both pigmentation and behavior.
From a wider viewpoint of the “Correlative gene systems”, another contribution of this study was to elucidate various associations between cis/trans-regulatory variations and genomic factors by conducting a novel type of genome-wide transcriptome analysis.

Free Research Field

進化遺伝学