Saturday, December 6, 2014

A Mouse, a Fish, and a Bee Walk into a Territory




Researchers at the University of Illinois have discovered that some organisms have much in common, genetically, despite the fact that they do not have much in common species-wise. The team at the University of Illinois did experiment with a house mouse, a stickleback fish, and a honey bee to see the relationship of brain patterns when stimulated with a threat coming into their territory. “We knew that a variety of animals share genes for some common physical traits. Now it appears that different organisms share a ‘genetic toolkit’ for behavioral traits, as well,” says Lisa Stubb, who is the lead of the research team. When the brain activity of each of the organisms was observed when each with threatened with an intruder was alarmingly similar. It is so alarming due to the fact that a house mouse, a stickleback fish, and a honey bee all have very different brain anatomy. The research showed that all three organisms had the same change in gene expression that regulate hormones and brainwaves that influence behavior. Other organisms shared similar responses linked to brain development.
Researchers say that the links between these organisms gives hope to the research for comparative genetics among organisms. If scientists are able to find similarities among organisms that evolved their behaviors hundreds of millions of years apart, it won’t be long before they can make connections between other organisms including humans.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141201163243.htm

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