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QTL Analysis of Behavior in Nine-Spined Sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius)

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Abstract

The genetic architecture of behavioral traits is yet relatively poorly understood in most non-model organisms. Using an F2-intercross (n = 283 offspring) between behaviorally divergent nine-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) populations, we tested for and explored the genetic basis of different behavioral traits with the aid of quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses based on 226 microsatellite markers. The behaviors were analyzed both separately (viz. feeding activity, risk-taking and exploration) and combined in order to map composite behavioral type. Two significant QTL—explaining on average 6 % of the phenotypic variance—were detected for composite behavioral type on the experiment-wide level, located on linkage groups 3 and 8. In addition, several suggestive QTL located on six other linkage groups were detected on the chromosome-wide level. Apart from providing evidence for the genetic basis of behavioral variation, the results provide a good starting point for finer-scale analyses of genetic factors influencing behavioral variation in the nine-spined stickleback.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Abigel Gonda, Mirva Turtianen and Pirkko Siikamäki (the Oulanka Research Station; University of Oulu) for help in obtaining the fish, Kirsi Kähkönen for help in genotyping, Jacquelin De Faveri for comments that improved an earlier version of this manuscript and DJ de Koning for suggestions regarding treating of the trait data. Our research was supported by Academy of Finland (grant numbers 34728, 250435 and 265211to J.M. and 128716 to G.H.) and the Biological Interactions Graduate School (to V.N.L). G.H. was also supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (G.H. # OTKA-K 105517) and the János Bólyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The experiments carried out in this study were conducted under license from the Finnish National Animal Experiment Board (license no. STH211A), and the fish from Kuusamo were obtained with license from Metsähallitus (permit given for G.H.).

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  1. Gábor Herczeg

    Present address: Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c., Budapest, 1117, Hungary

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Genetics and Physiology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland

    Veronika N. Laine

  2. Ecological Genetics Research Unit, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Gábor Herczeg, Takahito Shikano & Juha Merilä

  3. MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Jokioinen, Finland

    Johanna Vilkki

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Correspondence to Veronika N. Laine.

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Laine, V.N., Herczeg, G., Shikano, T. et al. QTL Analysis of Behavior in Nine-Spined Sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius). Behav Genet 44, 77–88 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-013-9624-8

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