Evolution of relative brain size in dogs—no effects of selection for breed function, litter size, or longevity

Author:

Garamszegi László Zsolt1ORCID,Kubinyi Enikő234,Czeibert Kálmán3,Nagy Gergely1,Csörgő Tibor5,Kolm Niclas6

Affiliation:

1. Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research , Vácrátót , Hungary

2. Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University , Budapest , Hungary

3. MTA-ELTE Lendület “Momentum” Companion Animal Research Group, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University , Budapest , Hungary

4. ELTE NAP Canine Brain Research Group , Budapest , Hungary

5. Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University , Budapest , Hungary

6. Department of Zoology, Stockholm University , Stockholm , Sweden

Abstract

Abstract Domestication is a well-known example of the relaxation of environmentally based cognitive selection that leads to reductions in brain size. However, little is known about how brain size evolves after domestication and whether subsequent directional/artificial selection can compensate for domestication effects. The first animal to be domesticated was the dog, and recent directional breeding generated the extensive phenotypic variation among breeds we observe today. Here we use a novel endocranial dataset based on high-resolution CT scans to estimate brain size in 159 dog breeds and analyze how relative brain size varies across breeds in relation to functional selection, longevity, and litter size. In our analyses, we controlled for potential confounding factors such as common descent, gene flow, body size, and skull shape. We found that dogs have consistently smaller relative brain size than wolves supporting the domestication effect, but breeds that are more distantly related to wolves have relatively larger brains than breeds that are more closely related to wolves. Neither functional category, skull shape, longevity, nor litter size was associated with relative brain size, which implies that selection for performing specific tasks, morphology, and life history does not necessarily influence brain size evolution in domesticated species.

Funder

Hungarian Academy of Sciences

National Brain Programme 3.0

National Research, Development and Innovation Office

Swedish Research Council

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,Genetics,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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