Neuroethology in The Age of Gene Editing: New Tools And Novel Insights into The Molecular And Neural Basis of Behavior

Abstract

Synopsis Fifty years ago, animal models studied in the lab were highly diverse, and biological insights were derived from experiments in many species. However, the pursuit of mechanistic explanations in organismal biology led to a shift in the species most commonly studied. The advent of genetic manipulations and economies of scale promoted the consolidation of research into fewer species (eg, Drosophila melanogaster, Mus musculus, Danio rerio, Caenorhabditis elegans). As a result, the tremendous variety of evolutionary adaptations across species provided insights into ultimate causes of evolution, but their proximate mechanisms have been understudied in recent decades. Within the last decade, developments in genome modifications have enabled functional genetic studies in a wide variety of species. This special issue combines papers derived from a symposium organized at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology conference in January 2023 in Austin, Texas. The symposium entitled “Neuroethology in the age of gene editing: New tools and novel insights into the molecular and neural basis of behavior” was convened to catalyze the transfer of knowledge and skills from researchers who have applied genome modification technologies in new model organisms to scientists who would like to bring these approaches to their own research programs. We highlight this work here, and suggest how the future of biological knowledge will be informed by these powerful experiments.