A polymorphism in the 5'-flanking region of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene affects fear-related behaviors of adult domestic chickens
| Autor: | E. Tobias Krause, Joergen Kjaer, Loc Phi van, Carolin Lüders |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
congenital hereditary and neonatal diseases and abnormalities Serotonin Genotype 5' flanking region Anxiety Polymorphism Single Nucleotide Open field 03 medical and health sciences Behavioral Neuroscience 0302 clinical medicine Gene Frequency Polymorphism (computer science) mental disorders Gene expression Animals Allele Allele frequency Serotonin transporter Alleles Genetics Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins Membrane Glycoproteins biology Behavior Animal Wild type Fear 030104 developmental biology Animals Domestic biology.protein Female Chickens 030217 neurology & neurosurgery |
| Zdroj: | Behavioural brain research. 330 |
| ISSN: | 1872-7549 |
| Popis: | The neural serotonin (5-HT)/serotonin transporter (5-HTT) system is involved in the regulation of physiological processes and emotional states. In humans, the short (S) allele in the 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region, which decreases 5-HTT expression, has been shown to be associated with behavioral changes including an increased level of anxiety. Also in birds a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene is described, a deletion (D) has been found to have functional consequences on growth and locomotion. Furthermore, the D-allele leads to an increased 5-HTT expression compared to the wild type (W), a feature which is linked to lower levels of fear in mammalian species. Thus, we aimed here to test whether the polymorphism in the chicken 5-HTT gene also leads to respective alternations of fear-related behaviors. We tested 268 hens of three genotypes (W/W, W/D, D/D) in two behavioral paradigms (open field, light-dark test) to assess fear-related behavior. Both tests revealed that hens possessing the D-allele showed lower levels of fear than those having the W-allele. These similar outcomes in fear-related behaviors in an avian and a mammalian species are associated with an increased 5-HTT expression. In the human 5-HTT gene, the long (L) allele is linked to such increased expression, whereas in chickens it is the D-allele. Thus, increased 5-HTT expression causing decreased fear may be a general mechanism in vertebrates. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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