Progesterone Response Element Variation in the OXTR Promoter Region and Paternal Care in New World Monkeys

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• 作者：Pedro Vargas-Pinilla ; Paul Babb ; Leandro Nunes ; Pâmela Paré…
• 关键词：Behavioral genetics ; Callitrichinae ; Molecular evolution ; Oxytocin system
• 刊名：Behavior Genetics
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：47
• 期：1
• 页码：77-87
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
• 刊物主题：Clinical Psychology; Health Psychology; Public Health;
• 出版者：Springer US
• ISSN：1573-3297
• 卷排序：47

文摘

Paternal care is a complex social behavior common in primate species with socially monogamous mating systems and twin births. Evolutionary causes and consequences of such behavior are not well understood, nor are their neuroendocrine and genetic bases. However, the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) and its receptor (OXTR) are associated with parental care in mammalian lineages. Here we investigated the interspecific variation in the number of progesterone response elements (PREs) in the OXTR promoter region of 32 primate species, correlating genetic data with behavior, social systems, and ecological/life-history parameters, while controlling for phylogeny. We verified that PREs are only present in New World monkeys and that PRE number is significantly correlated with the presence of paternal care in this branch. We suggest that PRE number could be an essential part of the genetic repertoire that allowed the emergence of taxon-specific complex social behaviors, such as paternal care in marmosets and tamarins.