Journal
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 21, Issue 6, Pages 1057-1063Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msh104
Keywords
vole; vasopressin receptor; VNTR; SSR; microsatellite; monogamy; evolution; promoter
Funding
- NCRR NIH HHS [RR00165] Funding Source: Medline
- NIMH NIH HHS [F31 MH67397, MH64692, R01 MH56897] Funding Source: Medline
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Forebrain vasopressin/vasotocin systems regulate a diverse set of complex social behaviors in a species-specific manner. Among mammals, vasopressin gene sequences and peptide distributions in the brain are highly conserved across species. In contrast, vasopressin V1a receptors (V1aR) are conserved at the protein level, but not at the level of gene structure or neuroanatomical distribution of the receptor. Here, we examine the functional role of a microsatellite segment in the 5' region of V1aR that differs significantly between monogamous and nonmonogamous vole species with divergent V1aR expression patterns. Using luciferase reporter assays, we demonstrate that this microsatellite plays a significant role in transcriptional regulation in a cell-type-specific manner. These results suggest that significant evolutionary changes in social behavior can occur through variation in regulatory regions of genes already involved in social behavior.
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