Genes and Behaviour

This chapter presents a current understanding of the relationship between genes (of large effect) and behaviour. It outlines how most phenotypic traits, including behaviour, are controlled by many variants of small effect. The chapter describes several well‐studied examples of single genes that medi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGenes and Behaviour pp. 93 - 109
Main Authors Weitekamp, Chelsea A, Keller, Laurent
Format eBook Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published United Kingdom John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated 2019
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Wiley-Blackwell
EditionFirst edition
Subjects
Behavior genetics
behavioural divergence
behavioural traits
genetic architecture
genetic diversity
phenotypic traits
single genes
supergenes
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Summary:This chapter presents a current understanding of the relationship between genes (of large effect) and behaviour. It outlines how most phenotypic traits, including behaviour, are controlled by many variants of small effect. The chapter describes several well‐studied examples of single genes that mediate behaviour, as well as 'supergenes' that can control behavioural divergence within species. It discusses how certain classes of genes may be more likely to influence the evolution of behaviour. The chapter considers whether the genetic architecture of behavioural traits is unique in relation to other phenotypic traits. It concludes by suggesting that an integrative approach to the study of genes and behaviour will lend the most insight into the forces underlying behavioural and genetic diversity. Phenotypic traits for which the genetic architecture has been well characterized are often morphological or, in the case of humans, disease related.
ISBN:1119313422
9781119313427
DOI:10.1002/9781119313663.ch5