Sex influences rat personality more than geographical origin
The Norway rat is an indispensable model organism. Behavioral studies on rats usually concentrate on a single trait without considering how different behaviors are linked to each other and whether there are differences in this respect between rat strains or sexes. This study aims to describe the personality structure of the Norway rat, and investigate […]
Domestication, selection, behaviour and welfare of animals — genetic mechanisms for rapid responses
Increased production has been the major goal of animal breeding for many decades, and the correlated side-effects have grown to become a major issue in animal welfare. In this paper, the main genetic mechanisms in which such side-effects may occur are reviewed with examples from our own research in chickens. Pleiotropy, linkage and regulatory pathways […]