与氧化素/血管压素相关的在生殖行为中起着古老的作用
Jennifer L Garrison1, Evan Z Macosko, Samantha Bernstein
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|November 1, 2012
概括
研究人员在C. elegans中发现了一种保存的催产素/血管压素类系统,对男性生殖行为如交配至关重要. 这种信号增强了复杂交配行为的协调,揭示了对行为保持的分子控制.
科学领域:
- 神经生物学 神经生物学 神经生物学
- 行为遗传学 行为遗传学
- 进化生物学 进化生物学
背景情况:
- 保存的生物功能已经得到了充分的证据,但它们在复杂行为中的作用仍然不清楚.
- 血管压素和催产素神经对哺乳动物的社会和生殖行为至关重要,尽管它们在动物中不存在,只会导致轻微的行为变化.
研究的目的:
- 为了研究一种类似于催产素/血管压素的信号系统的存在和功能,在Caenorhabditis elegans.
- 确定这个系统在生殖和其他行为中的作用.
主要方法:
- 在C. elegans中发现了一种新型的催产素/血管压素类及其受体.
- 对基因表达模式的分析,注意性二态表达.
- 对缺乏或其受体的突变雄性进行行为分析,重点关注生殖和感觉运动功能.
- 对交配运动模式的定量分析.
主要成果:
- 在C. elegans中发现了一种性二态的催产素/血管压素类似的信号系统.
- 缺乏这种系统的雄性在寻找伴侣,识别和交配方面表现出显著的损害.
- 突变动物的交配运动模式是分散的,效率较低的,而其他行为没有受到影响.
- 信号被证明可以增强交配行为的一致性.
结论:
- 保存的分子,类似于催产素/血管压素,在协调复杂的生殖行为中起着至关重要的作用.
- 这种信号系统对于C. elegans.有效和连贯的交配至关重要.
- 这些发现表明,分子机制的更深层次的进化保护是不同的行为动机的基础.
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