Fidelity in Prairie Voles

Researches at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered another influence of natural selection out in the wild. The study compared the brains of monogamous and non-monogamous prairie voles to understand any genetic variation that might influence their social behaviors. The results were surprising.

Prairie voles are Midwestern rodents known to be faithful to one mate. A male and female raise their offspring and generally stay together for a lifetime. However, few males make time for other females.

Researchers have identified a difference in DNA that causes prairie voles to be monogamous and others non-monogamous. The trait is compared to what makes humans introverted or extroverted. These differences in DNA either turn on or turn off specific brain regions involved with spatial memory, allowing rodents to remember and stay at the nest with the female or to wander off. Both variations of DNA exist in nature, and one is not biologically preferred over the other, though these are different social behaviors. Nature favors both variations, and diversity is key. 

Prairie voles are very unique rodents. If their social behavior relating to monogamy can be explained genetically, I wander what other social behaviors can be classified as genetic. 

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New view of mouse genome finds many similarities, striking differences with human genome

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A group of scientists that are a part of the Mouse ENCODE Project studying the mouse genome have not only found many similarities in the systems that control gene activity between humans and nice, but they have also found differences between these systems. They found that many of the similarities in these systems have been either conserved or continued through evolutionary time.  Through this research, they were able to discover a lot of information on just how the mouse genome works. The researches have found that some DNA sequence differences linked to human diseases also have counterparts in mice. The differences that were found appeared in specific tissue and cell types. It was found that although the mouse and human genomes have a common language during the regulatory process, there is a great amount in "flexibility in evolution".

This could be a huge determining factor in decided what exactly is tested for/on a mouse and what needs another test subject that is possibly closer to the human in ways the mouse is not. Although the genomes do have similarities, they still have a lot of differences which means some experiments that might work on mice won't necessarily work on the human genome.  This could effect how often mice are used when attempting to find cures or other medical discovers by first testing them on mice.