Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về sinh học được đăng trên tạp chí sinh học Journal of Biology đề tài: Making progress in genetic kin recognition among vertebrates. | Hurst and Beynon Journal of Biology 2010 9 13 http content 9 2 13 Journal of Biology MINIREVIEW L__ Making progress in genetic kin recognition among vertebrates Jane L Hurst 1 and Robert J Beynon2 See research article http 1471-2148 9 281 Abstract A recent study in BMC Evolutionary Biology has shown that genetically similar individual ring-tailed lemurs are also more similar in their scent composition suggesting a possible mechanism of kin recognition. Theoretical and experimental studies reveal challenges ahead in achieving a true systems-level understanding of this process and its outcomes. Across a very broad taxonomic range animals frequently respond differentially to close kin even if those kin were previously unfamiliar. Logically this differentiation between individuals according to kinship requires well-defined mechanisms to allow recognition. And whereas animals may learn the cues of familiar individual kin during rearing recognition of unfamiliar kin must really be recognition of genetic similarity - either to self or to other known kin. A challenge in this area lies in discovering the cues that animals use for genetic recognition of kin and the genetic encoding of such cues. In many vertebrates odors are key to the recognition process and have been widely implicated as cues that allow genetic kin recognition in many species of fish reptiles and mammals Figure 1 . However vertebrate scents are generally complex and there have been few attempts to identify the specific scent components used in kin recognition or their genetic basis. Gene-odor covariance In work published recently in BMC Evolutionary Biology Boulet and colleagues 1 have advanced this field by Correspondence 1Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group School of Veterinary Science University of Liverpool Leahurst Campus Neston CH64 7TE UK 2Proteomics and Functional Genomics Group School of Veterinary Science University of Liverpool .
