Meeting Abstract

46.3  Tuesday, Jan. 5  Molecular modules of maternal aggression in the African cichlid Astatotilapia burtoni CARLETON, J*; RENN, Suzy C. P.; Reed College, Portland OR renns@reed.edu

Thirty years of research have contributed to our understanding of the physiological mechanisms of the socially regulated switch between dominant and subordinate phenotypes among males of the African cichlid species Astatotilapia burtoni. Meanwhile, the female phenotypes have been largely ignored by all but a few studies regarding the reproductive cycle and affiliative behavior. Maternal mouthbrooding females of a recently collected A. burtoni wild stock from Zambia display a “good mother” phenotype that includes defensive aggression to protect free-swimming fry for up to 15 days post-release, whereas labstock females show similar aggression but tend to eat their fry within 2-3 days post-release. Our current research employs a systems biology approach to investigate the neuroendocrine and genomic contribution to the novel phenotype of maternal aggression, helping us understand the physiological basis of the behavioral differences observed in lab stock and wild stock fish. Here we describe the behavior of each stock in detail through repeated, ten-minute focal observations. We find no significant differences in plasma testosterone levels between stocks either before or after release of fry, although we do find an increase in plasma testosterone levels in wild stock in response to territory challenge during maternal care. We use a cDNA microarray to identify incredible differences in gene expression between stocks. A module of gene expression, upregulated specifically in maternal wild stock post fry release, contains some genes previously identified as important in male territorial behavior and also a novel set of genes related to maternal aggression, which is absent in the lab stock. This work establishes a female model for aggression, which will be explored at the hormonal, molecular and genetic level.