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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: December 30, 2015
Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis unravels the molecular basis of conspecific aggression in
Jiale Mo1, Enhao Zhao2, Zongji Wang1
1Institute of Animal Sex and Development, Zhejiang Wanli University, Ningbo, 315100, China; College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University, Ningbo, 315100, China.
Abstract:
Aggressive behavior is a critical issue affecting health and survival in aquaculture animals; however, the molecular mechanism of aggression in reptiles has not been fully understood. Using the Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) as a model, we established a turtle model of reactive aggression using the intruder experiment to compare aggressive and non-aggressive individuals. Integrated brain transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis revealed enrichment in glutamatergic and GABAergic pathways between aggressive and non-aggressive individuals. Aggressive individuals showed upregulated glutamate receptor genes (GRIA2, GRIA3, GRIK3) and an altered GABAergic system. Correlation networks confirmed coordinated gene-metabolite covariation in these pathways. Drug injection tests demonstrated that NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 significantly reduced attacks, indicating that glutamatergic signaling is a primary driver of aggressive behavior. These findings highlight conserved excitatory mechanisms in vertebrate aggression with reptile-specific characteristics and offer targets for low aggressiveness breeding in aquaculture.
