Genetic architecture supports mosaic brain evolution and independent brain-body size regulation
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The mammalian brain consists of distinct parts that fulfil different functions. Finlay and Darlington have argued that evolution of the mammalian brain is constrained by developmental programs, suggesting that different brain parts are not free to respond individually to selection and evolve independent of other parts or overall brain size. However, comparisons among mammals with matched brain weights often reveal greater differences in brain part size, arguing against strong developmental constraints. Here we test these hypotheses using a quantitative genetic approach involving over 10,000 mice. We identify independent loci for size variation in seven key parts of the brain, and observe that brain parts show low or no phenotypic correlation, as is predicted by a mosaic scenario. We also demonstrate that variation in brain size is independently regulated from body size. The allometric relations seen at higher phylogenetic levels are thus unlikely to be the product of strong developmental constraints.
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Recent studies point toward brain and body mass having independent genetic bases and different aspects of brain development evolving independently, suggesting selection can act on brain size and structure, or body mass, without causing correlated shifts in the other.
“Recent studies point toward brain and body mass having independent genetic bases and different aspects of brain development evolving independently (Barton and Capellini 2011;Montgomery et al. 2011;Hager et al. 2012), suggesting selection can act on brain size and structure, or body mass, without causing correlated shifts in the other.”
From THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF CETACEAN BRAIN AND BODY SIZE: CETACEAN BRAIN EVOLUTION (2013) · cites this paper as Hager et al. 2012
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- Authors
- Hager, R., Lu, L., Rosen, G. D., & Williams, R. W.
- Affiliations
- University of Manchester (GB)
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hager, Reinmar
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2012-09-25
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1079-1079
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4267555
- OpenAlex
- W2122144141
- Cited by
- 108
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 11
- FWCI
- 14.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Natural Environment Research Council (NE/F013418/1)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (U01AA013513, U01AA013499, U01 AA 13499, U24AA13513, U01AA014425, U01AA016662)
- National Institute of Mental Health (P20MH062009)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (P20 DA 21131, P20DA021131)
- National Eye Institute (P30EY013080)
- National Cancer Institute (U01CA105417)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS052397, NS052397)
- National Center for Research Resources (U24RR021760)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Geometry and Topology › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Keywords
- brain evolution, developmental constraints, quantitative genetics, genetic loci, phenotypic correlation, mice
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Biological Evolution, Organ Size, Body Size, Mice
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