Phylogeny and Genetivs

Parent Offspring Conflict

Investment per offspring depends on lifetime cost and benefit to parent

Agriculture

Planting certain cultivars in particular substrates to improve crop production

Leaf Cutting Ants Farming

Bring leaves into climate controlled rooms to cultivate it, remove weeds and use antibiotics to suppress pests

Evolution of Ant Farming

A single event caused farming in ants, and three independent origins for fungi to become ant crop

Evolution of Termite Farming

A single event causes farming in termites, and single origins for fungi to become termite crop

Evolution of Farming Beetles

7 event causes farming in beetles, and 2 origins for fungi to become beetle crop

How did fungi and ant phylogeny converge at the same time?

Giant asteroid killed photosynthesizing plants, which fungi fed on its decaying and ants that fed on fungi survived

1 mm into m

10^-3m

1 micron into mm

10^-3mm

1 nanometre into um

10^-3um

Chemotaxis

Ability of organisms and cells to move up and down a chemical gradient

Sperm with Chemotaxis and Thermotaxis

Cells use thermotaxis to get into the fallopian tube, then use chemotaxis to reach the egg

Phototaxis

Moving in response to light either towards or away

Geotaxis

Movement of cell in response to force of gravity

Successive Comparisons

Using one-step memory to compare

Bacteria uses of chemotaxis

Compares chemical gradients for higher concentration of food using successive comparison

Simultaneous Comparison

Comparing stimuli at the same

Who uses and doesn’t use simultaneous comparions

• Humans use simultaneous for hearing and seeing

• Bacteria are too simple, and chemical gradients are really small

Chemotaxis in E. Coli

1. Receptors detect chemicals

2. Transmit information to nucleus with electrical communication

3. Nucleus sends information to flagellum

Chemotaxis isn’t learning because

Lacks internal representation but decisions are affected by new information

Behaviour from Sydney Brenner

Behaviour is from genetic code of the nervous system and how it works to make behaviour

Biomimicry

Copying mechanisms of animals for new gadgets

Innate Behaviour/Fixed Action Pattern

Pattern that’s fully functional from the first time it’s performed

Advantages of Innate Behaviour

Rapid response to stimulus, and if it’s the first time

Village Weaverbird Males

Innate behaviour to build a nest to impress females starting from a forked branch, and weave it in a sphere, if the female likes it, the male will finish with a large opening downwards to protect against predators

Nest building adapts based on

Context, colour of material and needs

Geese recovering egg instinct

Will recover any smooth object near the nest because it ensures a real egg is never ignored

Chivers Experiment Set Up

Lets 3 groups of pikes feed on minnows, dameselfies, or mealworms in different tanks for 3 days, then place dameselfies in the tanks that had the pikes containing pike’s predatory chemicals

Subspecies of A. aegypti

• A. eformosus native to Africa, which feeds on nonhumans and lives in the forest

• A. e aegypti non-native, which feeds on humans

Introduction of A.e aegypti

Accidentally introduced and entered houses to lay their eggs

Both Subspecies are attracted to different odors for food from

Nonnative OR genes were more sensitive to sulcatone in human odor, causing them to express it more

What happens when a termite queen dies?

Workers get aggressive between each other and eventually one of them becomes queen

Neofem 2 Gene

Expresses pheromones that suppresses butting behaviours in workers, which leads to stopping reproduction

Principle of Segregation

Individual of two copies of each genes stays distinct and segregated fairly in sex cell formation

Independent Assortment

Whichever allele passed down at locus is independent of other alleles passed down (only for unlinked loci)

Ruffs Mating Behaviours

• Independent males guarding a small mating area

• Satellite males temporarily sharing independent male’s area and forms an alliance where both court at the same time

Satellite Birds Difference

Smaller and lighter plumage

Satellite and Independent Mating Controlled by

Single gene, S = satellite (dominant), and s = independent

QTL Mapping

Finding general region where QTL is

QTL Mapping Procedure

1. Choosing 2 strains where 1 has lower trait values, and the other has higher trait values

2. Cross to make F₁, if strains were homozygous at marker loci, F₁ is intermediate

3. Cross F₁ for F₂ to measure genotype at marker and value of trait, using that, it can be inferred which marker is most associated for QTL

QTL associated with fear in mice are in

14 chromosomes

QTL for emotionality (fear and anxiety) is on

20 chromosomes

Period Gene

Influences circadian rhythms, development in bees

mRNA levels in bees

Higher in foraging bees than nurse ones

QTL of Genes associated with age at 1st foraging on

Chromosome 4 and 5

Gene Malvolio

Effects of manganese transport to bee brain

Pollen foragers are more responsive to

Sucrose than nectar foragers, but both stronger than nurse bees

Manganese levels and mvl mRNA high in

Pollen foragers > nectar foragers > nurses

FOXP2 Gene

Associated with song perception in birds, and language acquisition in humans

Young Zebra Finches with deactivated FOXP2 gene 

Can’t copy song

mRNA levels from zenj gene increases

When birds heard zebra finch songs, which increase number of neurons in neostriatum

mRNA level from zenk gene increased less from

Other species songs, and no change from no songs or tone bursts

Zebra Finch Habituate

Same song, zenk mRNA will decrease

AVPR1A Gene

Controls vasopresson receptors

Long AVPR1A Allele

Associated with more prosocial behaviour, and males with two displays more care and positive to familiar females

Ratio of nonsynonymous and synonymous fixation indicates

Strength natural selection has acted on traits, with higher ratio meaning positive natural selection

Selection on ECR1 and FOXP2 Gene

Strong positive selection for learning and memory in great tits

GPCR

Involved in hormonal and neurobiological processes with behaviour

Transcription Factor

Guide development by binding to regulatory enhancers

Regulatory Enhancers

Non coding sequences that regulate expression of nearby genes

Mouse, Spined Stickleback and Honeybee all have

Similar gene expression/differentiation in response to territorial expression and 7 transcription factors apart from responses to intrusions

Temperature effects

Development of smell in insects

Female Parasitoid Wasps raised in Colder Areas were

Worse at learning a paritized hosts using external cues and affected number of eggs laid

Ballooning Behaviour

Uses thread to sail long distances

Rappeling

Make silk thread bridge for short distance

E. Atra Migration in Fall

Migrate using ballooning to noncrop area where habitats are scarce

E. Atra Migration in pring

Migrate using rappelling from abundant habitats

E. Atra Temperatures

Spides raised at higher temperatures were likely to rappel, and low temperatures ballooned

Pups raised by single mom got

More alone time than BP pups who were groomed more overall, but both moms groom the same time

SM Offspring Females

Groomed less and took longer to find a mate to bond with than BP

Cichlid babies raised by

Adults and siblings to defend the nest from predators and remove parasites from eggs

Taborsky Expereiment

Raised group 1 with no adult, group 2 with adults, group 3 adults + helpers

Taborsky Results

Group 2 and 3 displayed behaviours less energy costly but efficient in defending territories

Oldfield Mouse Females that have experience from babysitting other litters have

Offsprings that have higher probability of surviving from better nest building

What’s the Main Message?

Odor preference for humans in nonnative mosquitos

What’s the main message?

Higher mRNA in foraging individuals regardless of age

What’s the main message?

Pollen foragers have more manganese than nectar and nurses

What’s the main message

Songs of birds with deactivated FOXP2 had lower similarity scores to their tutor’s songs

What’s the main message?

zenk mRNA levels decrease with increase exposure to same song, and levels increase when exposed to a new song

What’s the main message?

Male care and partner preferences greater in males with the long avpr1a allele 

What’s the main message?

Pups in BP got more grooming, and after maturation, displayed more grooming + spent more time with their pups

What’s the main message?

EF began building nests sooner than IF females and built them better