Overview
- Published in Nature, the Princeton-led study ties lower Agouti expression to caregiving males and higher levels to hostile or neglectful males.
- Neural recordings show the medial preoptic area becomes more active when males encounter pups, with stronger activity in caregivers and weaker activity in aggressive mice.
- Boosting Agouti via gene therapy reduced interest in pups among previously nurturing males, with some showing aggression after treatment.
- Housing changes from group to solitary living lowered Agouti levels and increased paternal care, pointing to environmental control over gene expression and behavior.
- Researchers and outside experts caution against human extrapolation and note Agouti’s unexpected role beyond pigmentation and metabolism.