錦花雀(Taeniopygia guttata)築巢行為之轉錄組分析

Abstract

築巢是對鳥類繁殖一項很重要的行為，並也長期讓生物學家十分著迷。然而，我們對築巢行為的基因作用機制和築巢伴侶之間的互動協調行為了解甚少。我們使用轉錄組定序（RNA-seq） 的技術，來分析斑胸草雀(Taeniopygia guttata) 的四個腦區的基因表現，以分別尋找參與公鳥和母鳥類築巢行為的基因。我們發現與築巢行為相關基因的表現可能主要受到築巢夥伴驅動，且公鳥的撿巢材的行為和母鳥待在巢內的行為是受到不同腦區的不同基因模組所調節。此外，我們發現築巢伴侶除了在築巢行為的表現上具有同步性，也在少數基因上發現同步的基因表現。我們的研究提供了第一個鳥類築巢行為的轉錄組證據，並發現同步現象也可以在採取不同行動的社會夥伴之間的合作行為中找到，例如在雙親築巢物種的築巢行為。

Nest construction is an important behavior for the reproduction of birds and has fascinated biologists for a long time. However, we know little about the genetic mechanism of nesting behaviors and behavioral coordination between nesting partners. We used RNA-seq to profile gene expression patterns across four targeted brain regions in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to identify genes that were involved in nest construction for male and female birds. We showed that the gene expression profiles associated with nesting behaviors may be mainly driven by nesting partners and that the fetching behavior of male birds and the behavior of staying in the nest-box of female birds were regulated by distinct gene modules in different brain regions. In addition, we found that nesting partners showed the synchronization in both behavioral performance and gene expression in certain genes during nest construction. Our study presents the first brain-transcriptomic evidence of nesting behavior in birds, and also demonstrates that the synchronization can be also found in cooperative behaviors between social partners that take different actions, such as nesting behaviors in biparental nest-construction species.