Estimation of heritability of learning behavior in honeybees (Apis mellifera capensis)

The learning behavior of Cape honeybees (Apis mellifera capensis) is examined using conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex. The bees are tested cumulatively with several learning tests. The genetic influence on differences in the learning scores is calculated by means of heritability (h ²) estimations obtained by different methods. Theh ² values of the sum of the trials derived by each method range between 0.39 and 0.54. This shows that the proboscis extension reflex paradigm is suitable for the characterization and selection of genetic differences in learning behavior. Heritabilities in the narrow sense and in the broad sense are in the same range. The small differences obtained are discussed with respect to the type of selection existing in natural populations.This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Br 827/1-2).     

The behavioral genetics of colony defense in honeybees: Genetic variability for guarding behavior

Guard honeybees stand at the entrance of colonies and facilitate the exclusion of nonnestmates from the colony. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that genetic variability among individuals in colonies might explain variability in guarding activity. To do this, we cross-fostered honey bees between colonies with high-defensive responses and colonies with low-defensive responses in alarm pheromone tests. Individuals from high-defensive colonies were more likely to guard in their own colonies (controls) than cross-fostered bees from low-defensive colonies. Cross-fostered high-defensive bees also were more likely to guard in low-defense colonies. These results support the hypothesis that interindividual differences in guarding behavior are at least partially under genetic control. A positive correlation between number of guards and response to alarm pheromone demonstrates a link between behaviorally separated components of the overall defensive response.This work was supported by NSF Grant BNS 8605604.     

Regional brain variations of cytochrome oxidase staining during olfactory learning in the honeybee (Apis mellifera)

Regional brain variations of cytochrome oxidase (CO) staining were analyzed in the honeybee (Apis mellifera) after olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex. Identification of brain sites where stimuli converge was done by precise image analysis performed in antennal lobes (AL) and mushroom bodies (MB). In Experiment 1, bees received 5 odorant stimulations that induced a transient decrease of CO activity in the lateral part of the AL. In Experiment 2, bees were trained with 5-trial olfactory conditioning. CO activity transiently increased in the lips of the MB calyces. There was also a delayed increase in the lateral part of the AL. An olfactory stimulus presented alone and an odor paired to a sucrose stimulation are treated by different pathways, including both AL and MB.     

Behavioral development and olfactory learning in the honeybee (Apis mellifera)

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) can be readily conditioned in the laboratory to specific odors paired with a subsequent sucrose reward. A series of experiments are reported which demonstrate that the ability of bees to acquire and retain this learning is affected by the stage of behavioral development (caste). Results show rapid acquisition of the proboscis extension reflex (PER) conditioning in adult forager bees, however much slower acquisition and poorer retention of the same learning paradigm in younger adults, i.e., nurse bees and guard bees. Further, if nurse bees are made to forage precocially by manipulation of the hive population, these bees show excellent acquisition and retention of PER conditioning comparable to normal adult forager bees. Results are discussed in terms of olfactory learning requirements of bees performing caste‐specific behaviors and the maturation of the bee nervous system. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 34: 21–27, 1999     

Physiological function and behavioral genetics. II. Quantitative genetic analysis of conduction velocity of caudal nerves of the mouse,Mus musculus

Scores for body weight, tail length, and caudal nerve conduction velocity (assessed by direct, in vivo methods) from 1701 mice from the DBA/1J and C3H/HeJ inbred strains and their derived generations were employed for genetic analysis. Substantial strain differences were observed for the three characters, and hybrid scores exceeded those of inbreds. Within the reciprocal backcrosses, mating groups with inbred female parents had lower average scores for the three variables than did groups with hybrid female parents. The nature of this maternal influence is being examined. Heritability estimates from comparison of generation variances were high and not consistent. Those from generation means were lower, consistent, and in close agreement with estimates from regression of F₃ offspring on their F₂ parent scores. The heritability of conduction velocity in this population is apparently about 0.10. Regression estimates of heritability using 950 animals from an eight-way cross suggest that the heritability of caudal nerve conduction velocity in that population is about 0.20. From both populations, a slight positive genetic correlation among the characters is indicated.This research was supported by NIH grant NS09536.     

An epigenetic,transgenerational model of increased mental health disorders in children,adolescents and young adults

Prevalence rates of mental health disorders in children and adolescents have increased two to threefold from the 1990s to 2016. Some increase in prevalence may stem from changing environmental conditions in the current generation which interact with genes and inherited genetic variants. Current measured genetic variant effects do not explain fully the familial clustering and high heritability estimates in the population. Another model considers environmental conditions shifting in the previous generation, which altered brain circuits epigenetically and were transmitted to offspring via non-DNA-based mechanisms (intergenerational and transgenerational effects). Parental substance use, poor diet and obesity are environmental factors with known epigenetic intergenerational and transgenerational effects, that regulate set points in brain pathways integrating sensory-motor, reward and feeding behaviors. Using summary statistics for eleven neuropsychiatric and three metabolic disorders from 128,989 families, an epigenetic effect explains more of the estimated heritability when a portion of parental environmental effects are transmitted to offspring alongside additive genetic variance.Subject terms: Genetic variation, ADHD, Addiction, Autism spectrum disorders, Genetic variation     

Reconsidering the Heritability of Intelligence in Adulthood: Taking Assortative Mating and Cultural Transmission into Account

Heritability estimates of general intelligence in adulthood generally range from 75 to 85%, with all heritability due to additive genetic influences, while genetic dominance and shared environmental factors are absent, or too small to be detected. These estimates are derived from studies based on the classical twin design and are based on the assumption of random mating. Yet, considerable positive assortative mating has been reported for general intelligence. Unmodeled assortative mating may lead to biased estimates of the relative magnitude of genetic and environmental factors. To investigate the effects of assortative mating on the estimates of the variance components of intelligence, we employed an extended twin-family design. Psychometric IQ data were available for adult monozygotic and dizygotic twins, their siblings, the partners of the twins and siblings, and either the parents or the adult offspring of the twins and siblings (N = 1314). Two underlying processes of assortment were considered: phenotypic assortment and social homogamy. The phenotypic assortment model was slightly preferred over the social homogamy model, suggesting that assortment for intelligence is mostly due to a selection of mates on similarity in intelligence. Under the preferred phenotypic assortment model, the variance of intelligence in adulthood was not only due to non-shared environmental (18%) and additive genetic factors (44%) but also to non-additive genetic factors (27%) and phenotypic assortment (11%).This non-additive nature of genetic influences on intelligence needs to be accommodated in future GWAS studies for intelligence.     

Piracetam as a corrector of the delayed learning disabilities caused by prenatal alcoholization: The importance of times of treatment

The use of piracetam from the 8th to the 20th day of postnatal development prevents disruption of the elaboration of the conditioned bilateral avoidance reflex in the shuttle box in mature male offspring of rats which had received ethanol intragastrally from the 1st to the 20th day of gestation. When used for 13 days one month prior to conditioning, piracetam acts with less efficiency on mature animals, while the same duration of treatment just before conditioning does not affect the impairment of conditioned reflex elaboration. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 121, No. 4, pp. 435–437, April, 1996 Presented by G. N. Kryzhanovskii, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Estimating genetic and non-genetic components of variance for fasting glucose levels in pedigrees ascertained through non-insulin dependent diabetes

Fasting glucose levels measured on 337 individuals in 14 pedigrees ascertained through a proband with non-inuslin dependent diabetes were used to estimate genetic and non-genetic components of variance under a multifactorial model of inheritance. In this sample genetic factors were important in controlling variation in basal carbohydrate metabolism, as represented by age-adjusted log-fasting glucose. There was no evidence that arbitrary sib common environments or arbitrary parent common environments accounted for significant portions of the variability in fasting glucose in these data. An arbitrary environment shared by parent and offspring, however, had a marginally significant impact on the likelihood. Parameter estimates obtained from multifactorial models analysed in this manner are sensitive to extreme phenotypic values, however, and caution must be exerciese in estimating total genetic variation. While additive genetic factors did account for a significant proportion of the total variation in fasting glucose, a large proportion remained unexplained.     

A biometrical genetic analysis of ethanol response in selectively bred Long-Sleep and Short-Sleep mice

A classical Mendelian cross was derived from Long-Sleep (LS) and Short-Sleep (SS) mice, lines selectively bred for differences in response to hypnotic doses of ethanol (ETOH). Biometrical genetic procedures applied to the selection phenotype, namely, duration of the ETOH-induced loss of the righting reflex, suggest that a simple additive genetic system controls this depressant response. Sex differences were present in the Mendelian cross generations that had the longest duration responses. An estimate of the number of loci differentiated by the selection was nine. Blood ethanol levels at the time of regaining the righting reflex in the seven genotypes of the Mendelian cross showed that the selection operated solely by changing tissue sensitivity to ethanol.This work was supported by a grant from the SUNY Research Foundation.     

Frequentist Model-averaged Estimators and Tests for Univariate Twin Models

Parameter estimates from analyses of univariate twin data usually do not reflect the uncertainty due to the model selection phase of the data analysis. To address the effect of model selection uncertainty on parameter estimates, we introduce frequentist model-averaged estimators for univariate twin data analysis that use information-theoretic criteria to assign model weights. We conduct simulation studies to examine the performance of model-averaged estimators of additive genetic variance, and for tests for additive genetic variance based on model-averaged estimators. In simulation studies with small or moderate sample sizes, model-averaged estimators of additive genetic variance typically have lower mean-squared error than either (i) estimators from individual twin models, or (ii) estimators obtained from a decision procedure where the best-fitting model from likelihood-ratio testing is used to estimate additive genetic variance. For each sample size simulated, bootstrap tests based on model-averaged estimators have higher power to detect additive genetic variance than currently-used tests in most cases.Edited by Stacey Cherny     

Two nonassociative components of the proboscis extension reflex in the blow fly, Phormia regina, which may affect measures of conditioning and of the central excitatory state

With the use of controls not included in previous studies, evidence is presented for the existence of water-induced central excitatory state (w-CES) from analyses of pure-breeding high- and low-CES lines in the blow fly, Phormia regina. The CES lines differed in base-level responsiveness to distilled water (and to saline) as well as in response levels for w-CES and for sucrose-induced CES, which suggests the existence of genetic correlates for several components of the proboscis extension reflex. Recognition of several nonassociative components complicates the interpretation of individual scores in earlier studies of proboscis extension conditioning and of the central excitatory state.     

Breaking Through Artificial Selection Limits of an Adaptive Behavior in Mice and the Consequences for Correlated Responses

Previous divergent selection for nest-building behavior at 22 ± 1°C resulted in a 40-fold difference between the high and the low lines in amount of cotton used to build a nest. Correlated responses to selection indicated positive genetic correlations with body weight, nest-building at 4 ± 1°C, and litter size and negative genetic correlations with food consumption. At generation 46, the replicate high-selected (High 1 × High 2), randomly bred control (Control 1 × Control 2), and low-selected (Low 1 × Low 2) lines were crossed and the F₁ showed significant heterosis for nest-building behavior. Regression of the F₃ on the F₂ generation gave heritability estimates of 0.16 ± 0.10 for the high and 0.07 ± 0.10 for the low cross, revealing a potential to break the selection limit (at least in the high direction), which had been reached at about 20 generations of selection. Indeed, renewed selection resulted in responses in both the high and the low directions of nesting, yielding realized heritabilities of 0.29 ± 0.02 and 0.30 ± 0.004, respectively. Replicated renewed selection, using the F₃ generation as the base population, in the high direction of nesting resulted in correlated increases in nest-building at 4 ± 1°C, litter size, and food consumption. Body weight did not change. The positive correlation with food consumption is opposite in sign compared to the original selection experiment. This indicates that the evolutionary potential of a population to adapt to a changing environment not only depends on its current genetic variability in one adaptive trait, but may be constrained by genetic correlations changing over the course of selection.     

Population structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus tristeza virus</Emphasis> from field Argentinean isolates

We studied the genetic variability of three genomic regions (p23, p25 and p27 genes) from 11 field Citrus tristeza virus isolates from the two main citrus growing areas of Argentina, a country where the most efficient vector of the virus, Toxoptera citricida, is present for decades. The pathogenicity of the isolates was determinated by biological indexing, single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis showed that most isolates contained high intra-isolate variability. Divergent sequence variants were detected in some isolates, suggesting re-infections of the field plants. Phylogenetic analysis of the predominant sequence variants of each isolate revealed similar grouping of isolates for genes p25 and p27. The analysis of p23 showed two groups contained the severe isolates. Our results showed a high intra-isolate sequence variability suggesting that re-infections could contribute to the observed variability and that the host can play an important role in the selection of the sequence variants present in these isolates. N. G. Iglesias and S. P. Gago-Zachert contributed equally to this study.     

Variation and inheritance of relative length of index finger in man

The length of index finger relative to fourth finger has been measured on parents and children in 190 families belonging to an endogamous Reddy community of Nalgonda District, India. The distribution of relative index finger length among various family groups was unimodal and symmetric. Heritability estimates based on parent-offspring regressions indicate a moderate level (40--70 percent) of additive genetic variance. There was no evidence for the influence of sex-linked additive genes.     

Habituation of an appetitive reflex in the honeybee.

1. The proboscis extension reflex is an appetitive component of the bee's feeding behavior that is elicited by touching one antenna with a droplet of sugar water. Repetitive stimulation leads to a decrement and finally to the disappearance of the response, which can be restored by stimulating the contralateral antenna. This behavioral plasticity conforms to essential parametric characteristics for habituation. 2. The response was quantified by recording extracellularly from a muscle involved in proboscis movement, by measuring the duration of the proboscis extension, or by determining the number of trials necessary to abolish any visible response. 3. Because habituation was restricted to the repetitively stimulated antenna and did not generalize to the contralateral hemisphere, the neural circuits mediating habituation may be confined to one hemisphere. 4. State dependence of habituation could be demonstrated by showing that hungry animals exhibited a smaller response decrement and required more trials until disappearance of the response compared with satiated animals. The initial response and the subsequent response decrement are separate components determined by satiation level and stimulus strength. 5. Depleting the nervous system of monoamines by the use of reserpine abolished the reflex in 30% of the animals and reduced responsiveness in the remainder. Injection of octopamine or its metabolic precursor tyramine restored the reflex in reserpinized unresponsive animals, and tyramine also enhanced the muscle-spike discharge of reserpinized, responsive animals. In undepleted animals, tyramine application also accelerated the rate of habituation of the reflex. We therefore propose that octopaminergic neurons participate in mediating food arousal and the state dependence of habituation and, in a separate process, influence the response decrement during habituation. 6. Application of an acetylcholine esterase (AChE) inhibitor and a cholinergic receptor blocker confirmed histochemical data that implicate cholinergic transmission in the reflex pathways. 7. The combined pharmacological dissection of the reflex and immunocytochemical investigations of its chemical architecture provide evidence that the proboscis extension reflex is mediated by nonaminergic and monoaminergic pathways operating in parallel.     

Genetics of type a behavior in two European countries: Evidence for sibling interaction

Young male twins in The Netherlands and England completed the Jenkins Activity Survey (Dutch and English versions, respectively), a measure of Type A behavior. Separate model fitting analysis revealed a similar pattern of variance estimates and associated goodness of fit across the two countries. The data were then analyzed concurrently, with a scalar parameter included to account for differences in variance due to the disparity of the measurement scales. A model including additive genetic and individual environmental effects gave a good explanation to the data. The heritability estimate was 0.28. Models of social interaction and dominance explained the data even better, the former being preferred. The twins' parents were included in the analysis to examine population variation for Type A behavior intergenerationally. There was evidence for individual environmental experiences having a greater influence on Type A behavior in the older generation.     

Heritability of life span in the Old Order Amish

Although a familial contribution to human longevity is recognized, the nature of this contribution is largely unknown. We have examined the familial contribution to life span in the Old Order Amish (OOA) population of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Analyses were conducted on 1,655 individuals, representing all those born prior to 1890 and appearing in the most widely available genealogy, surviving until at least age 30 years, and with known date of death. Mean age at death (+/-SD) in this population was 70.7 +/- 15.6 years, and this did not change appreciably over time. Parental and offspring ages at death were significantly correlated, as were ages of death among siblings. Offspring longevity was correlated with longevity of both parents, and in more or less additive fashion. For example, mean offspring age at death was 69.4 +/- 15.3 years in individuals for whom both parents died before the age of 75 years (n = 280) and increased to 73.5 +/- 16.0 years in individuals for whom neither parent died before the age of 75 years (n = 311). These differences were highly significant (P = 0.006). We estimated heritability of life span to be 25% +/- 5%, suggesting that the additive effects of genes account for one quarter of the total variability in life span in the OOA. We conclude that longevity is moderately heritable in the OOA, that the genetic effects are additive, and that genetic influences on longevity are likely to be expressed across a broad range of ages. Published 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Heritability of diurnal type: a nationwide study of 8753 adult twin pairs

Twin studies suggest a genetic component in diurnal types. In 1981, a questionnaire sent to the Older Finnish Twin Cohort yielded responses from 2836 adult monozygotic (MZ) and 5917 like-sexed dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs with four category self-report on diurnal type. We used structural equation modelling to estimate genetic and environmental components of variance in morningness and eveningness. The model fitting was best when the morningness and the eveningness were analysed together. The ADE-model (including additive genetic, dominant genetic and non-shared environmental effects) fitted best to the data. ADE-models for men and women separately did not differ in a statistically significant manner from the combined model, and similarly ADE-models for young and old age groups separately did not differ either. The estimate for overall genetic effect (broad sense heritability) was 49.7% (95% confidence interval 46.4-52.8), with the remainder accounted for by environmental factors not shared by siblings. The variance component estimates for the underlying liability to diurnal type were 11.7% (95% CI 0-23.7) for additive genetic factors, 38.0% (24.7-51.3) for genetic factors due to dominance. Genetic effects thus account for about one-half of the interindividual variability in diurnal type in adults.     

Multivariate Path Analysis of Specific Cognitive Abilities Data at 12 Years of Age in the Colorado Adoption Project

A parent–offspring multivariate conditional path model was fitted to specific cognitive abilities data from the Colorado Adoption Project (CAP) when the offspring were 12 years of age. The sample included 175 adoptees, 175 sets of adoptive parents, 175 biological mothers, 34 biological fathers, and 209 nonadopted children and their parents. Consistent with results obtained from multivariate genetic analyses of CAP data obtained at earlier ages, the effects of familial environmental transmission on individual differences in specific cognitive abilities were not significant. Assuming complete isomorphism (i.e., that the genetic and environmental etiologies of individual differences are the same) between the child and the adult measures, the heritability estimates for verbal, spatial, perceptual speed, and visual memory were .26, .35, .38, and .53, respectively. Although the heritability estimate for visual memory is somewhat higher than those for verbal, spatial, and perceptual speed abilities, these estimates are not significantly different. These estimates are higher than those obtained when the adoptees and controls were 4 years old (Rice et al., 1986, 1989); thus, heritabilities of specific cognitive abilities may increase as a function of cognitive development. Alternatively, genetic stability from childhood to adulthood may be greater from 12 years than from 4 years, which would be interpreted as greater heritability by the CAP parent–offspring design. The genetic correlations among the four measures were substantial, ranging from .27 between verbal and spatial abilities to .78 between spatial ability and perceptual speed. However, differences among these correlations are not significant, suggesting that their covariation may be due to general cognitive ability. Finally, estimates of bivariate-heritability indicate that on average about half of the phenotypic correlations among the four specific cognitive ability measures are due to genetic effects.