Aggression-boldness gene identified in model fish
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - 10:01
in Biology & Nature
A gene responsible for aggressive and bold behavior has been identified in zebrafish by a French team from CNRS/Laboratoire Neurobiologie et Développement. This specific behavioral association, whose three characteristics are boldness, exploratory behavior and aggressiveness, has been described in many animal species. In zebrafish, it could be due to the action of a single gene (fgfr-1) through its regulation of histamine levels in the brain, as histamine is the neurotransmitter involved in numerous behavioral traits. These results are published in The Journal of Neuroscience on 28 September 2011.