Evolution of a novel adrenal cell type that promotes parental care

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Niepoth, Natalie; Merritt, Jennifer R.; Uminski, Michelle; Lei, Emily; Esquibies, Victoria S.; Bando, Ina B.; Hernandez, Kimberly; Gebhardt, Christoph; Wacker, Sarah A.; Lutzu, Stefano; Poudel, Asmita; Soma, Kiran K.; Rudolph, Stephanie; Bendesky, Andres
• 署名单位: Columbia University; Columbia University; Manhattan University; Yeshiva University; Yeshiva University; University of British Columbia; University of British Columbia
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-3826
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07423-y
• 发表日期: 2024-05-30
• 页码: 1082-+
• 关键词: 3-alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase; tenascin-r; receptor; differentiation; progesterone; expression; plasticity; excitability; metabolism; activation

摘要

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 20 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone. We then demonstrate that 20 alpha-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.