Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33883685›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2021

The serotonin transporter gene and female personality variation in a free-living passerine.

Bert Thys, Andrea S Grunst, Nicky Staes, Rianne Pinxten, Marcel Eens, Melissa L Grunst

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Molecular biology of serotonergic systems in avian brains.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2023
    Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Bert Thys *Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, D.D. 123, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium. bert.thys@uantwerpen.be.
Andrea S Grunst *Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, D.D. 123, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Nicky StaesDepartment of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, D.D. 123, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Rianne PinxtenDepartment of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, D.D. 123, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Marcel EensDepartment of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, D.D. 123, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Melissa L GrunstDepartment of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, D.D. 123, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
University of Antwerp · BERoyal Zoological Society of Antwerp · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Quantifying variation in behaviour-related genes provides insight into the evolutionary potential of repeatable among-individual variation in behaviour (i.e. personality). Yet, individuals typically also plastically adjust their behaviour in response to environmental conditions and/or age, thereby complicating the detection of genotype-phenotype associations. Here, using a population of free-living great tits (Parus major), we assessed the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the serotonin transporter gene (SERT) and two repeatable behavioural traits, i.e. female-female aggression and female hissing behaviour. For female-female aggression, a trait showing age-related plasticity, we found no evidence for associations with SERT SNPs, even when assessing potential age-dependent effects of SERT genotype on aggression. We also found no strong support for associations between SERT SNPs and hissing behaviour, yet we identified two synonymous polymorphisms (exon 13 SNP66 and exon 12 SNP144) of particular interest, each explaining about 1.3% of the total variation in hissing behaviour. Overall, our results contribute to the general understanding of the biological underpinning of complex behavioural traits and will facilitate further (meta-analytic) research on behaviour-related genes. Moreover, we emphasize that future molecular genetic studies should consider age-dependent genotype-phenotype associations for behavioural trait (co)variation, as this will vastly improve our understanding of the proximate causes and ultimate consequences of personality variation in natural populations.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalAnimalsFemaleGene FrequencyGenetic Association StudiesPasseriformesPersonalityPolymorphism, Single NucleotideSerotonin Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsSerotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins

Identifiers

PMID33883685
PMCPMC8060275
OpenAlexW3156140064

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.