Meeting Abstract
Variation in animal personalities has been linked to experience and response to stressors. The stress response has been traditionally evaluated by quantifying glucocorticoids yet, individual variation exists in how animals, and presumably cells, respond to a similar signal. One intracellular process that likely underlies variation in the response to stress is the unfolded protein response (UPR). The variation in UPR has been shown to correlate with the several variables relevant to human health, but our understanding of the ecological relevance of variation in UPR is poor. To evaluate the relationship between the UPR and animal personality, we use deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) as a model, as they have been shown to display considerable individual variation in UPR. Prior to the onset of this study, responsiveness in cultured fibroblasts to tunicamycin, a compound stimulating protein unfolding, was quantified for each mouse by evaluating the relative expression of different molecular chaperones. The mice were then released into semi-natural enclosures where behavior was quantified. The behavioral tests included a novel object test, handling test, and predator cue test. Fecal samples were collected from individuals monthly to evaluate corticosterone.. We predict that animals with bolder personalities, and more ‘extreme’ behavioral responses, will show greater capacity to perform under stress, i.e. display a relatively high UPR phenotype. These bolder animals may also have lower baseline corticosterone. Together, these data could help to illuminate the necessity of acknowledging individual variation at the cellular level and may identify the UPR as a modifier of the stress response at the organismic level.
