Genetic Basis for Animal Tameness Identified

Genetic Basis for Animal Tameness Identified

Caitlin Judge

A team of European scientists from Germany, Sweden and Russia have identified genomic regions in the DNA of the common brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) that are responsible for the docility of the animals’ behaviour towards humans. In a study originating decades ago, a rat population captured in the wilderness around a major Russian city was separated into groups according to their aggression towards their captors- aggressive rats behaved violently whilst “friendly” rats were passive and compliant. These groups were breed within each other to ultimately create two populations displaying highly distinct reactions to humans (a tame and an aggressive group). The groups were then interbreed over several generations and their genomes studied. Over 45 traits were examined, including anxiety-related traits and organ weights. It was discovered that two loci, for anxiety-related traits and the weight of the rat’s adrenal gland were part of an epistatic network of loci influencing the rat’s tameness.


This study has significant implications. The discovery of these rat genes provides a foundation for further study of the genetic basis of animal tameness in other species, and may aid our ability to domestic species that so far have proved resistant to taming, such as the African Buffalo. Knowledge of the genetic basis of animal docility shall aid our understanding of what determines how animals interact with humans, and potentially each other, and may lead to breeding strategies that have the ability to promote human tolerance in animal generations.

LINKS
ScienceDaily 9th June 2009 ‘Genetic Region For Tame Animals Discovered: Horse Whisperers, Lion Tamers Not Needed’ retrieved June 9, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/06/090608131152.htm
To access the study as it appears in Genetic magazine:

Albert et al. Genetic Architecture of Tameness in a Rat Model of Animal Domestication. Genetics, 2009; 182 (2): 541 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.109.102186