Comments on: It’s hard out here for a vole

By: arosko

arosko — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:43:21 +0000

I’m not surprised that a behavioral trait as complex as monogamous mating requires several genes. It may be that monogamy is difficult to “achieve” in that many genes are necessary, but none is sufficient. Possibly in evolutionary lineages in which monogamy was selected for in the past, but not in the present, monogamous behavior was “re-lost” through a single gene mutation, making it seem as if only that gene is involved when performing comparisons, as the authors point out.

By: Fly

Fly — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 07:04:13 +0000

??the number of repeats tracked with receptor distribution??

The repeats may be determining where the receptors are located? That is interesting. Has anyone worked out how that may be happening?

If I remember correctly, short terminating repeats are prone to copying errors so they should be hot spots for mutation. If the repeats are controlling the location and level of protein expression that would fit with a model of adaptation occurring primarily through changes in regulation of protein expression.

Are there other examples of repeats being linked to protein expression?

I wonder if this is related to packing DNA around histones:

Scientists discover a genetic code for organizing DNA within the nucleus

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-07/acft-sda071906.php

By: deadsmith

deadsmith — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 06:33:20 +0000

I recently talked to a guy in a lab at UCSD who said they had tried to look in other species (I thought it was just the lab rat) and came to the conclusion that the tandem repeats were just in vole and the chimps.

I guess the STRs are in plenty of species, but to no effect. I wouldn't say this necessarily degates the Larry Young work, it just means mating behavior is more complicated across the Class Mammalia than maybe Young was hoping for (whoop-see!).

All in all: two points each for positive and negative controls.