Navigation Links
When she's turned on, some of her genes turn off
Date:12/10/2007

AUSTIN, TexasWhen a female is attracted to a male, entire suites of genes in her brain turn on and off, show biologists from The University of Texas at Austin studying swordtail fish.

Molly Cummings and Hans Hofmann found that some genes were turned on when females found a male attractive, but a larger number of genes were turned off.

When females were most excitedwhen attractive males were aroundwe observed the greatest down regulation [turning off] of genes, said Cummings, assistant professor of integrative biology. Its possible that this could lead to a release of inhibition, a transition to being receptive to mating.

The same genes that turned on when the females were with attractive males turned off when they were with other females and vice versa.

This is one of few studies to link changes in the expression of genes with changes in an individuals behavior in different social situations.

Cummings and Hofmann suggest that the gene sets they studied could be involved in orchestrating mating responses in all vertebrates.

Their research appeared online December 4 in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.

Female swordtails are attracted to males that are large and have ornaments on their bodies, such as long tails and striking coloration.

In experiments, females were placed in the center of a tank separated into three zones for 30 minutes. When an attractive male was in one of the adjacent zones, females showed typical behaviors indicating that they had chosen the male for mating. The females were also tested with other females, with unattractive smaller males, and in empty tanks.

The researchers immediately extracted RNA from the females and used gene array technology to identify genes that were being up regulated (turned on) and down regulated (turned off) in the females brains.

The researchers looked at more than 3,000 genes and found that 77 were involved in
'/>"/>

Contact: Lee Clippard
lclippard@mail.utexas.edu
512-232-0675
University of Texas at Austin
Source:Eurekalert

1

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Adaptation to parasites drive African fishes along different evolutionary paths
2. Biologists expose hidden costs of firefly flashes
3. University biologist publishes book on bird speciation
4. Newfound ancient African megadroughts may have driven the evolution of humans and fishes
5. DOE publishes update of plan: Facilities for the Future of Science: A 20-Year Outlook
6. Brain cell growth diminishes long before old age strikes, animal study shows
7. Gene regulation, not just genes, is what sets humans apart
8. Interaction of just 2 genes governs coloration patterns in mice
9. Muscle mass: Scientists identify novel mode of transcriptional regulation during myogenesis
10. Study finds blocking angiogenesis signaling from inside cell may lead to serious health problems
11. Smoking turns on genes -- permanently
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/17/2013)... of all ages will celebrate the science and ... our daily lives during the inaugural Atlanta Science ... educators from local museums, corporations, K-12 schools and ... different events for children and adults at venues ... . , The annual Atlanta Science Festival ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... iCargo project (Intelligent Cargo in Efficient and Sustainable Global ... to an improvement in the efficiency of intermodal loading ... decision making. It comprises 29 European organisations with experience ... It has a budget totalling 17,000,000 and a duration ... working to specify and develop the semantic components and ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... An international team of scientists using a new ... inside a living frog embryo in greater detail than ... advance biological research and the search for new treatments ... Karlsruher Institut fr Technologie in Germany, in collaboration with ... Energy,s Argonne National Laboratory, released the most precise depiction ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):First Atlanta Science Festival set for 2014 2New logistics services that will cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions 2New X-ray method shows how frog embryos could help thwart disease 2
... a small amount of carbon nanotubes can go a ... of plastic materials widely used in engineering applications, according ... Institute have developed a simple new technique for identifying ... wings and many other structures made from polymer composites. ...
... 2007 -- An international collaboration directed by an ... first-ever atomic-detail computer simulation of how proteins vibrate ... ORNL,s Center for Molecular Biophysics, said experimental testing ... of the Office of Science,s recently completed Spallation ...
... might affect the type and evolution of toxins in their ... Evolutionary Biology shows. In snakes, venom composition varies ... feed on a range of animals and birds, so scientists ... in their venom. Sea snakes, on the other hand, tend ...
Cached Biology News:Using nanotubes to detect and repair cracks in aircraft wings, other structures 2Using nanotubes to detect and repair cracks in aircraft wings, other structures 3Using nanotubes to detect and repair cracks in aircraft wings, other structures 4Interacting protein theory awaits test from new neutron analysis tools 2
(Date:5/16/2013)... Cambridge Healthtech Institute will host its fifth annual ... Renaissance Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA. The ten ... the current strategies and innovations for optimizing bioprocesses while ... the field will reveal how their work has resulted ... and efficiency. , “In this age of rapid innovation, ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... , May 16, 2013  HealthSparq, a ... of the nation,s largest regional health plans, will ... Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Institute 2013 conference on ... survey results showing how health insurance companies across ... the consumer and marketplace demands for increased healthcare ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... Scientists at the Center for Learning and ... the California -based biopharmaceutical company Magceutics, ... for reversing memory decline in mice with Alzheimer,s Disease. ... improvement in advanced stage AD mice. The study is ... decline for advanced stage AD mice, and is also ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) May 16, 2013 ... years and costs over one billion dollars. Despite this ... market. With stakes this high, is your clinical trial ... and deliver the best outcomes? , Dr. Frederic Sax, ... Quintiles, will discuss the use of data, information and ...
Breaking Biology Technology:The 2013 Bioprocessing Summit to Bring Together International Leaders to Discuss Today's Bioprocess Issues From Cell Line Selection to Manufacturing in Boston, MA 2HealthSparq to Reveal New Healthcare Transparency Benchmark Study at AHIP Institute 2013 2HealthSparq to Reveal New Healthcare Transparency Benchmark Study at AHIP Institute 2013 3Elevation of Brain Magnesium Reverses Memory Deficits in Alzheimer Mice 2Elevation of Brain Magnesium Reverses Memory Deficits in Alzheimer Mice 3Optimizing Clinical Trials Outcomes through Computer Assisted Design, New Life Science Webinar Hosted by Xtalks 2
... , ... • Alexa Fluor • TAMRA • ... Flexible and scalable uHTS programs demand that organizations ... the task. This application note describes experiments to assess the performance of ...
... , ... fluorescent image analysis • IN Cell Analyzer • IN Cell Developer ... Neurite extension, or neurite outgrowth, plays a fundamental ... outgrowth is also critical in some neuropathological disorders as well as ...
... , ... CypHer ™ 5, a pH sensitive dye, has shown utility ... to obtain dose-response and rank-order potency data for both agonist ... live-cell receptor internalization studies, an enhanced version of this dye, ...
Cached Biology Technology:Performance of fluorescent dyes with LEADseeker Multimodality Imaging System 2Performance of fluorescent dyes with LEADseeker Multimodality Imaging System 3Neurite outgrowth cell-by-cell analysis using the IN Cell Developer Toolbox 2Neurite outgrowth cell-by-cell analysis using the IN Cell Developer Toolbox 3Neurite outgrowth cell-by-cell analysis using the IN Cell Developer Toolbox 4Neurite outgrowth cell-by-cell analysis using the IN Cell Developer Toolbox 5Neurite outgrowth cell-by-cell analysis using the IN Cell Developer Toolbox 6Screening for potential beta 2-adrenergic receptor antagonists using CypHer5E and IN Cell Analyzer 1000 2Screening for potential beta 2-adrenergic receptor antagonists using CypHer5E and IN Cell Analyzer 1000 3Screening for potential beta 2-adrenergic receptor antagonists using CypHer5E and IN Cell Analyzer 1000 4Screening for potential beta 2-adrenergic receptor antagonists using CypHer5E and IN Cell Analyzer 1000 5Screening for potential beta 2-adrenergic receptor antagonists using CypHer5E and IN Cell Analyzer 1000 6
Recombinant Feline IL-5...
dithiothreitol (DTT) Reactive Dyes and Chemicals Thiol-Reactive Dyes, Haptens and Quenchers Reducing Agents...
Recombinant Feline IL-2, CF...
Recombinant Equine IL-4, CF...
Biology Products: