@article{vogel_patisaul_arambula_tiezzi_mcgraw_2018, title={Individual Variation in Social Behaviours of Male Lab-reared Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) is Non-heritable and Weakly Associated with V1aR Density}, volume={8}, ISSN={2045-2322}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/S41598-018-19737-9}, DOI={10.1038/S41598-018-19737-9}, abstractNote={AbstractThe genetic and environmental factors that contribute to pair bonding behaviour remain poorly understood. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) often, but not always, form stable pair bonds and present an ideal model species for investigating the genetic and environmental factors that influence monogamy. Here, we assessed variation in partner preference, a measure of pair bonding, and related social behaviours in a population of laboratory-reared prairie voles under controlled environmental conditions. We evaluated to what extent variation in these behaviours correlate with vasopressin 1a receptor (V1aR) expression in the ventral pallidum (VP) and retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and estimated the heritability of these behaviours and V1aR expression. We found substantial variation in partner preference and measures of aggression, paternal care, and anxiety-like behaviours, but no correlation between these traits. We also found variation in V1aR density in the VP and RSC can account for behavioural components of paternal care and aggression, but not in partner preference. Heritability estimates of variation in partner preference were low, yet heritability estimates for V1aR expression were high, indicating that the extensive variation in partner preference observed within this population is due largely to environmental plasticity.}, number={1}, journal={Scientific Reports}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Vogel, Andrea R. and Patisaul, Heather B. and Arambula, Sheryl E. and Tiezzi, Francesco and McGraw, Lisa A.}, year={2018}, month={Jan}, pages={1396} } @article{dumont_williams_ng_horncastle_chambers_mcgraw_adams_mackay_breen_2018, title={Relationship Between Sequence Homology, Genome Architecture, and Meiotic Behavior of the Sex Chromosomes in North American Voles}, volume={210}, ISSN={["1943-2631"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85052645535&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1534/genetics.118.301182}, abstractNote={AbstractOn the heterogametic sex chromosomes, the homology-driven processes of pairing, recombination, and segregation are restricted to a short region of X/Y homology known as the pseudoautosomal region (PAR). Although failure of X/Y associations in most mammals...In most mammals, the X and Y chromosomes synapse and recombine along a conserved region of homology known as the pseudoautosomal region (PAR). These homology-driven interactions are required for meiotic progression and are essential for male fertility. Although the PAR fulfills key meiotic functions in most mammals, several exceptional species lack PAR-mediated sex chromosome associations at meiosis. Here, we leveraged the natural variation in meiotic sex chromosome programs present in North American voles (Microtus) to investigate the relationship between meiotic sex chromosome dynamics and X/Y sequence homology. To this end, we developed a novel, reference-blind computational method to analyze sparse sequencing data from flow-sorted X and Y chromosomes isolated from vole species with sex chromosomes that always (Microtus montanus), never (Microtus mogollonensis), and occasionally synapse (Microtus ochrogaster) at meiosis. Unexpectedly, we find more shared X/Y homology in the two vole species with no and sporadic X/Y synapsis compared to the species with obligate synapsis. Sex chromosome homology in the asynaptic and occasionally synaptic species is interspersed along chromosomes and largely restricted to low-complexity sequences, including a striking enrichment for the telomeric repeat sequence, TTAGGG. In contrast, homology is concentrated in high complexity, and presumably euchromatic, sequence on the X and Y chromosomes of the synaptic vole species, M. montanus. Taken together, our findings suggest key conditions required to sustain the standard program of X/Y synapsis at meiosis and reveal an intriguing connection between heterochromatic repeat architecture and noncanonical, asynaptic mechanisms of sex chromosome segregation in voles.}, number={1}, journal={GENETICS}, author={Dumont, Beth L. and Williams, Christina L. and Ng, Bee Ling and Horncastle, Valerie and Chambers, Carol L. and McGraw, Lisa A. and Adams, David and Mackay, Trudy F. C. and Breen, Matthew}, year={2018}, month={Sep}, pages={83–97} } @article{mcgraw_suarez_wolfner_2015, title={On a matter of seminal importance}, volume={37}, ISSN={["1521-1878"]}, DOI={10.1002/bies.201400117}, abstractNote={Egg and sperm have, understandably, been the “stars” of mammalian fertilization biology, particularly because artificial reproductive technologies allow for fertilization to occur outside of the female reproductive tract without other apparent contributions from either sex. Yet, recent research, including an exciting new paper, reveals unexpected and important contributions of seminal plasma to fertility. For example, seminal plasma proteins play critical roles in modulating female reproductive physiology, and a new study in mice demonstrates that effects of some of these proteins on the female can even affect the health of her progeny. Furthermore, although several actions of seminal plasma have been conserved across taxa, male accessory glands and their products are diverse – even among mammals. Taken together, these studies suggest that the actions of seminal plasma components are important to understand, and also to consider in future development of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for humans, farm species and endangered species of mammals.}, number={2}, journal={BIOESSAYS}, author={McGraw, Lisa A. and Suarez, Susan S. and Wolfner, Mariana F.}, year={2015}, month={Feb}, pages={142–147} } @article{mcgraw_davis_thomas_young_thomas_2012, title={BAC-Based Sequencing of Behaviorally-Relevant Genes in the Prairie Vole}, volume={7}, ISSN={["1932-6203"]}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0029345}, abstractNote={The prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) is an important model organism for the study of social behavior, yet our ability to correlate genes and behavior in this species has been limited due to a lack of genetic and genomic resources. Here we report the BAC-based targeted sequencing of behaviorally-relevant genes and flanking regions in the prairie vole. A total of 6.4 Mb of non-redundant or haplotype-specific sequence assemblies were generated that span the partial or complete sequence of 21 behaviorally-relevant genes as well as an additional 55 flanking genes. Estimates of nucleotide diversity from 13 loci based on alignments of 1.7 Mb of haplotype-specific assemblies revealed an average pair-wise heterozygosity (8.4×10−3). Comparative analyses of the prairie vole proteins encoded by the behaviorally-relevant genes identified >100 substitutions specific to the prairie vole lineage. Finally, our sequencing data indicate that a duplication of the prairie vole AVPR1A locus likely originated from a recent segmental duplication spanning a minimum of 105 kb. In summary, the results of our study provide the genomic resources necessary for the molecular and genetic characterization of a high-priority set of candidate genes for regulating social behavior in the prairie vole.}, number={1}, journal={PLOS ONE}, author={McGraw, Lisa A. and Davis, Jamie K. and Thomas, Pamela J. and Young, Larry J. and Thomas, James W.}, year={2012}, month={Jan} } @article{mcgraw_young_2010, title={The prairie vole: an emerging model organism for understanding the social brain}, volume={33}, ISSN={0166-2236}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2009.11.006}, DOI={10.1016/j.tins.2009.11.006}, abstractNote={Unlike most mammalian species, the prairie vole is highly affiliative, forms enduring social bonds between mates and displays biparental behavior. Over two decades of research on this species has enhanced our understanding of the neurobiological basis not only of monogamy, social attachment and nurturing behaviors but also other aspects of social cognition. Because social cognitive deficits are hallmarks of many psychiatric disorders, discoveries made in prairie voles can direct novel treatment strategies for disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. With the ongoing development of molecular, genetic and genomic tools for this species, prairie voles will likely maintain their current trajectory becoming an unprecedented model organism for basic and translational research focusing on the biology of the social brain.}, number={2}, journal={Trends in Neurosciences}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={McGraw, Lisa A. and Young, Larry J.}, year={2010}, month={Feb}, pages={103–109} } @article{mcgraw_gibson_clark_wolfner_2004, title={Genes Regulated by Mating, Sperm, or Seminal Proteins in Mated Female Drosophila melanogaster}, volume={14}, ISSN={0960-9822}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2004.08.028}, DOI={10.1016/j.cub.2004.08.028}, abstractNote={In Drosophila melanogaster, sperm and accessory gland proteins ("Acps," a major component of seminal fluid) transferred by males during mating trigger many physiological and behavioral changes in females (reviewed in ). Determining the genetic changes triggered in females by male-derived molecules and cells is a crucial first step in understanding female responses to mating and the female's role in postcopulatory processes such as sperm competition, cryptic female choice, and sexually antagonistic coevolution. We used oligonucleotide microarrays to compare gene expression in D. melanogaster females that were either virgin, mated to normal males, mated to males lacking sperm, or mated to males lacking both sperm and Acps. Expression of up to 1783 genes changed as a result of mating, most less than 2-fold. Of these, 549 genes were regulated by the receipt of sperm and 160 as a result of Acps that females received from their mates. The remaining genes whose expression levels changed were modulated by nonsperm/non-Acp aspects of mating. The mating-dependent genes that we have identified contribute to many biological processes including metabolism, immune defense, and protein modification.}, number={16}, journal={Current Biology}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={McGraw, Lisa A. and Gibson, Greg and Clark, Andrew G. and Wolfner, Mariana F.}, year={2004}, month={Aug}, pages={1509–1514} }