Zayden Ogletree
Research Mentor: Maxwell Miyasato
Mentor Department: Psychology/Human Genetics, LSA
Author(s): Maxwell Miyasato, Zayden Ogletree, Natalie Tronson , Shigeki Iwase
Session: Session 4 (1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 133
Abstract
Neural circuits in the brain responsible for sex biased behaviors such as heightened aggression within males, appear during development. On the Y chromosome, there is a gene called SRY that is believed to be the primary cause for these behavioral differences during development. While we have some knowledge regarding SRY itself, the various other genes also found only in the Y chromosome have been less researched. These genes, specifically X-Y linked homologs, are expressed throughout the entire body not exclusively in the brain or testis. One such X-Y linked gene pair are Kdm5c and Kdm5d. We know that the Kdm5c gene on the X chromosome is critical for regulating aggression, sociability, and learning. However, the reason this project is being conducted is to discover what the role of the Y linked gene Kdm5d is during development. We hypothesize that Kdm5d, like Kdm5c, is critical for normal development of the male brain. After conducting various behavioral paradigms, we observed a decrease of sociability, anxiety, and short-term memory in the male mice without the Kdm5d gene. Interestingly, there is no observed change in aggression and dominance similar to a Kdm5c knockout mouse. These results show that Kdm5d possesses a difference in function during development of the male brain and is just as essential to normal neurodevelopment as its X-linked counterpart Kdm5c.
