Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Animal behaviour

How to build a better dad

Nature volume 544, pages 418–419 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Oldfield mice and deer mice differ in their parental care, most dramatically in the behaviour of fathers. A study reveals the genetic and neuronal contributions to variation in parental care. See Article p.434

One of the most pressing questions facing biologists is how variation in the genome is translated into variation in complex traits. Perhaps no trait is more complex or more interesting than social behaviour. How do genomic differences influence aggression, courtship or bonding? Few studies have asked. On page 434, Bendesky et al.1 combine genetic crosses, detailed behavioural assays and the latest neuroscience tools to understand species differences in parental care in mice of the genus Peromyscus.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Figure 1: Oldfield mice (Peromyscus polionotus) share parenting duties between the sexes.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Bendesky, A. et al. Nature 544, 434–439 (2017).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bedford, N. L. & Hoekstra, H. E. eLife 4, e06813 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Turner, L. M. et al. Mol. Biol. Evol. 27, 1269–1278 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Caldwell, H. K., Lee, H.-J., Macbeth, A. H. & Young, W. S. Prog. Neurobiol. 84, 1–24 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bester-Meredith, J. K., Young, L. J. & Marler, C. A. Horm. Behav. 36, 25–38 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Numan, M. & Young, L. J. Horm. Behav. 77, 98–112 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Roth, B. L. Neuron 89, 683–694 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. De Vries, G. J. & Panzica, G. C. Neuroscience 138, 947–955 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Atzil, S., Hendler, T., Zagoory-Sharon, O., Winetraub, Y. & Feldman, R. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 51, 798–811 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bosch, O. J. & Neumann, I. D. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 17139–17144 (2008).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bales, K. L. & Saltzman, W. Horm. Behav. 77, 249–259 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Steven M. Phelps is in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.,

    Steven M. Phelps

Authors
  1. Steven M. Phelps
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven M. Phelps.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Evolutionary genetics: Genes for home-building

Neurobiology: To care or not to care

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Phelps, S. How to build a better dad. Nature 544, 418–419 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22486

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22486

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing