| Description |
Studies of behavioral variation in primates are increasingly examining the role that genes have in determining social styles. The genus Macaca, for which phylogeny plays a central role in behavior, represents a useful group to explore behavioral genetics. Differences in macaque aggression and age of dispersal, among other behaviors, are known to be linked to various genes related to the neuroendocrine system. Serotonin, in particular, influences behaviors that are highly variable in macaques, suggesting that it could play a major role in macaque evolution. In this study we look for evidence of positive selection in genes associated with social behavior in eight macaque lineages using aBSREL, a method that detects site-level and branch-level selection across different lineages in a phylogeny. We detected evidence of positive selection acting on the HTR1A serotonin receptor gene-a gene associated with neural activity, anxiety, and agonistic behaviors-in the M. fascicularis lineage, a highly geographically dispersed species. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the serotonin system may underlie the ecological success in macaques. |
