Serotonergic modulation of the behavioral divergence in Pan: A hologenomics approach
Description: Despite their close phylogenetic relationship and phenotypic similarities, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), humans closest living relatives, show a distinctive behavioral divergence. Bonobos show a remarkable reduction in aggressiveness, which is hypothesized to co-evolve with a larger suit of correlated traits, the “domestication syndrome”. As selection targets gene variants that lower aggression, simultaneous alterations are seen in other behavioral traits. While reactive behaviors (aggression, anxiety) decrease, prosocial behaviors (grooming, play, sex) simultaneously increase. Which genes were targeted remains largely unknown. Here I investigate the role of serotonin as a potential modulator of the behavioral divergence in Pan, a neurotransmitter with a well-documented role in the regulation of both reactive and prosocial behaviors. I will systematically compare aggression, anxiety, grooming, sex and play between the two species and investigate to what extent variation in four largely unstudied serotonergic genes impacts behavioral variation within and between the two species. In addition, I will examine a novel and largely unexplored pathway by expanding our investigation to the hologenome, or the combined set of genomes of the host and its cohabiting gut microbes, the gut microbiome (GM). The GM directly impacts host social behavior through interaction with the gut-brain axis, and plays an important regulatory role in serotonergic signaling.
Funder: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Funding type: fellowship
Funder scheme: FWO senior postdoctoral fellowship
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Investigators: Nicky Staes, Marcel Eens
Institution: FWO
Funded outputs count: 4
Funder award ID: 1249124N
OpenAlex ID: G7930142814