Evolution of a novel adrenal cell type that promotes parental care

Natalie Niepoth, Jennifer R. Merritt, Michelle Uminski, Emily Lei, Victoria S. Esquibies, Ina B. Bando, Kimberly Hernandez, Christoph Gebhardt, Sarah A. Wacker, Stefano Lutzu, Asmita Poudel, Kiran K. Soma, Stephanie Rudolph and Andres Bendesky ()
Additional contact information
Natalie Niepoth: Columbia University
Jennifer R. Merritt: Columbia University
Michelle Uminski: Columbia University
Emily Lei: Columbia University
Victoria S. Esquibies: Columbia University
Ina B. Bando: Columbia University
Kimberly Hernandez: Columbia University
Christoph Gebhardt: Columbia University
Sarah A. Wacker: Manhattan College
Stefano Lutzu: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Asmita Poudel: University of British Columbia
Kiran K. Soma: University of British Columbia
Stephanie Rudolph: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Andres Bendesky: Columbia University

Nature, 2024, vol. 629, issue 8014, 1082-1090

Abstract: Abstract Cell types with specialized functions fundamentally regulate animal behaviour, and yet the genetic mechanisms that underlie the emergence of novel cell types and their consequences for behaviour are not well understood1. Here we show that the monogamous oldfield mouse (Peromyscus polionotus) has recently evolved a novel cell type in the adrenal gland that expresses the enzyme AKR1C18, which converts progesterone into 20α-hydroxyprogesterone. We then demonstrate that 20α-hydroxyprogesterone is more abundant in oldfield mice, where it induces monogamous-typical parental behaviours, than in the closely related promiscuous deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). Using quantitative trait locus mapping in a cross between these species, we ultimately find interspecific genetic variation that drives expression of the nuclear protein GADD45A and the glycoprotein tenascin N, which contribute to the emergence and function of this cell type in oldfield mice. Our results provide an example by which the recent evolution of a new cell type in a gland outside the brain contributes to the evolution of social behaviour.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07423-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:629:y:2024:i:8014:d:10.1038_s41586-024-07423-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07423-y

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().