Abstract
This study takes the first step toward testing a Y chromosomal effect on both aggression and thermoregulatory nest-building behavior in mouse lines either bidirecrionally selected for short (SAL) and long (LAL) attack latency or high (HIGH) and low (LOW) nest-building behavior. Using reciprocal crosses between SAL and LAL, and between HIGH and LOW, we found no indications for Y chromosomal effects on thermoregulatory nest-building behavior. As for aggression, we confirmed earlier studies on SAL and LAL, i.e., the origin of the Y chromosome influences attack latency, i.e., aggression. However, we did not find indications for a Y chromosomal effect on aggression in the HIGH and LOW lines. Since aggression and nest-building behavior have been shown to be characteristic parameters of two fundamentally different behavioral strategies, the present data underline the improbability of Y chromosomal genes underlying the genetic architecture of alternative behavioral strategies.
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Sluyter, F., Bult, A., Lynch, C.B. et al. No Evidence for a Y Chromosomal Effect on Alternative Behavioral Strategies in Mice. Behav Genet 27, 477–482 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025678517986
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025678517986