An African striped mouse sire cuddles with some of his offspring.(Image credit: C. Todd Reichart / Princeton University (Department of Molecular Biology))
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Toggling a single genetic regulator can incite devoted fathers to target their young, at least within African striped mice, according to recent investigations. Nonetheless, the gene on its own wasn’t entirely liable for this shift from caring to combative fatherhood; social factors similarly influenced how the male rodents acted.
The discoveries might uncover further details regarding the genetic processes that prompt certain mammal groups to behave as supportive fathers, while others desert their offspring. Dynamic fatherhood is uncommon among mammals, as solely 5% of the 6,000 mammalian species possess involved dads. As a result, researchers are substantially less knowledgeable concerning how paternal care operates in mammals compared to their understanding of maternal care within mammals. African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) prove valuable for scrutinizing mammalian paternal care due to males exhibiting a diverse array of behaviors toward pups, varying from clustering together to maintain warmth to deliberately disregarding their descendants.
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To ascertain the cerebral regions that mediated this conduct, the group subjected male mice to pups, subsequently observing their brain functioning. They noted that the observant fathers possessed greater activity within a specific brain area termed the medial preoptic area (MPOA).
“Years of investigations have indicated that the MPOA acts as a center point for maternal nurturing across mammals,” stated lead creator and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Forrest Rogers, an investigator at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, through an email with Live Science.
The team subsequently dissected the brains of the rodents and gauged gene activity in cells sourced from the MPOA. From this, they determined that a gene referred to as Agouti displayed increased activity in males who attacked pups versus those who provided care.
“Agouti is more widely acknowledged for its contributions to skin pigmentation and metabolism, consequently uncovering this hitherto unidentified cerebral role relating to parenting conduct was thrilling,” Rogers stated in a declaration.
To substantiate that Agouti expression bore responsibility for the interchange between observant and combative conduct, the group initially exposed mice to pups, then inserted a virus that heightened the expression of the Agouti gene inside the MPOA. When the males were once more exposed to pups, their conduct shifted.
“We established that those males, upon increasing Agouti, turned combative toward pups,” Rogers conveyed to Live Science via email, implying that this gene was operating as a type of “switch” that fluctuated between combative and nurturing conduct among mouse fathers.
Although the Agouti gene detected within the MPOA might exhibit a robust correlation with alterations in paternal nurturing, Rogers cautioned that this molecular toggle didn’t encapsulate the complete narrative.
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“It certainly suggests that for specific striped mice, enhancing Agouti expression suffices to trigger infanticide,” he expressed. “However, we similarly determined that there existed supplemental elements at play, such as the present communal housing, which could temper this impact.”
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Upon the researchers transferring males originating from group housing to individual enclosures, Agouti concentrations diminished and caregiving rose, intimating that the gene experiences greater influence from social circumstance as opposed to food access.
While this investigation may have revealed a conceivable genetic regulator for fathering, pivotal constraints were present. Notably, solely male African striped mice underwent scrutiny. Furthermore, despite paternal conduct varying within the species, the researchers advised against extrapolating those conclusions onto different species.
“While we won’t preclude Agouti from functioning correspondingly within alternate species (humans or otherwise), no current evidence proposes this precise function among humans (or alternate mammalian species),” Rogers communicated within his email to Live Science.
Article Sources
Rogers, F. D., Kim, S., Mereby, S. A., Kasper, A. M., Callanan, A. B., Mallarino, R., & Peña, C. J. (2026). Agouti integrates environmental cues to regulate paternal behaviour. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10123-4
Kenna Hughes-CastleberryContent Manager, Live Science
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry functions as the Content Manager at Live Science. Previously, she occupied the role of Content Manager at Space.com and preceding that, the Science Communicator at JILA, a physics research institution. Kenna is additionally a book author, with her forthcoming publication ‘Octopus X’ slated for unveiling during spring of 2027. Her specialized topics encompass physics, health, environmental science, technology, AI, animal intelligence, corvids, and cephalopods.
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Lab mice that ‘touch grass’ are less anxious — and that highlights a big problem in rodent research
DNA from ancient viral infections helps embryos develop, mouse study reveals
In a first, study links maternal genes to risk of pregnancy loss