Speaker
Description
The avian migratory phenotype is both spectacular and complex, encompassing a range of morphological, physiological, and behavioural traits such as pre-migratory fat storage, circannual rhythms, and sensory mechanisms for navigation. Many of these traits have a strong genetic basis, however the identity of the molecular mechanisms that underpin the migratory phenotype is still unknown. To address this, we contrast Eurasian blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) during and out of the migratory season to gain insight into (i) the changes in gene expression associated with the migratory phenotype, and link this to (ii) how these expression changes are regulated. For this we combine RNA-seq with open chromatin profiling (ATAC-seq) in the same bird, focusing on brain areas likely related to migration; the hypothalamus, the hippocampus and cluster N, a region that plays a role in processing magnetic compass information. I will present unpublished results that correlate the gene expression profiling with characterisation of activity at cis-regulatory sequences in each brain region. This study provides a novel insight into how the complex phenotype of migration is regulated in a wild passerine and constitutes a powerful approach to identify important candidate genes and genomic regulatory elements that underlie avian migratory behaviour.
