Study Of Domesticated Foxes Reveals Changes In Gene Expression As A Basis For Tame Behavior

Study Of Domesticated Foxes Reveals Changes In Gene Expression As A Basis For Tame Behavior: "The researchers found that although there were many differences in the gene-activity profiles of the wild and farm-raised foxes, foxes selected for tameness showed relatively limited changes in brain gene activity when they were compared to non-domesticated farm foxes. Because the selected and non-selected foxes live in an identical environment, the authors point out that the differences in gene activities that do exist between these two groups probably reflect the consequences of behavioral changes accompanying tameness, whereas the differences between wild and farm-raised foxes likely derive from other factors, including adaptations by farmed foxes to life in a captive environment. Taken together, the findings support the hypothesis that genetic changes influencing the activity of genes expressed in the brain may act as an important mechanism for evolutionary behavioral alterations that arise in the course of domestication."