Like physical traits, behavioral traits have a heritable component, and personalities may resemble one parent’s more than the other. New research in mice finds that specific complex behaviors in these animals are shaped by genes inherited from just one parent.
Not only are alleles inherited from a mouse’s mom or dad expressed in unequal proportions in various cells in the brain and adrenal system—a phenomenon called genomic imprinting—but expressing the maternal or paternal allele leads to observable differences in the behavior and physiology of the offspring, according to a study published in Cell Reports on March 8. The scientists behind the research also found that maternal alleles shape the foraging behavior of male offspring, while the paternal alleles shape the behavior of female offspring. But why and how this happens is not yet clear.
The paper results from nine years of research in which lead author Christopher Gregg, a neurobiologist ...
