Behavioral genetics in non-model organisms is currently gated by technological limitations. However, with the growing availability of genome editing and functional genomic tools, complex behavioral traits such as social behavior can now be explored in diverse organisms. Here we present a minimally invasive neurosurgical procedure for a classic behavioral, ecological and evolutionary system: threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). This method of direct brain injection enables viral-mediated transgenesis and pharmaceutical delivery which bypasses the blood-brain barrier. This method is flexible, fast, and amenable to statistically powerful within-subject experimental designs, making it well-suited for use in genetically diverse animals such as those collected from natural populations. Viral-mediated transgenesis in the brain allows for a direct examination of the genetic mechanisms underlying behavior in wild-caught animals from natural populations. Using this method, we were able to detect changes in aggression from the knockdown of either of two different genes, arginine vasopressin (AVP) and monoamine oxidase (MAOA), in outbred animals in less than one month. In addition, we demonstrate that widely available mammalian plasmids work with this method, lowering the barrier of entry to the technique.

中文翻译：

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用于病毒介导的转基因的微创脑部注射：棘背动物行为遗传学的新工具

非模型生物的行为遗传学目前受到技术限制的限制。但是，随着基因组编辑和功能基因组工具的日益普及，现在可以在各种生物中探索诸如社会行为之类的复杂行为特征。在这里，我们为经典的行为，生态和进化系统：Threespine stickleback（Gasterosteus aculeatus）提供了一种微创神经外科程序。这种直接脑部注射的方法能够绕过血脑屏障进行病毒介导的转基因和药物递送。该方法灵活，快速并且适合于统计上强大的受试者内部实验设计，使其非常适合用于遗传多样性的动物，例如从自然种群中收集的动物。大脑中的病毒介导的转基因可以直接检查自然种群中野生动物行为的遗传机制。使用这种方法，我们能够在不到一个月的时间内检测到两个不同基因精氨酸加压素（AVP）和单胺氧化酶（MAOA）的基因敲低引起的侵略性变化。此外，我们证明了广泛可用的哺乳动物质粒也可以使用这种方法，从而降低了该技术的进入壁垒。