Gerald Heckel Universität Bern, Computational and Molecular Population Genetics (CMPG), CH Title Hypervariable genes and the evolution of monogamy in Microtus voles Abstract Complex social behavior in Microtus voles and other mammals has been shown to be under the direct genetic control of a single locus: the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor (avpr1a) gene. Using an evolutionary approach, I will present intra- and interspecific data on genetic variation in regions of functional relevance for avpr1a and in evolutionarily neutral regions. I will show that a repetitive element in the promoter region of avpr1a, which reportedly causes social monogamy, is actually widespread in nonmonogamous Microtus and other rodents. Among 25 rodent species studied, the element was absent in only two closely related nonmonogamous species, indicating that this absence is certainly the result of an evolutionarily recent loss. Our analyses further demonstrate that the repetitive structures upstream of the avpr1a gene in humans and primates, which have been associated with social bonding, are evolutionarily distinct from those in rodents. Together with data from other genomic regions, these results suggest a much more complex evolutionary history of the avpr1a locus than previously anticipated. CV Professional experience 2000 - 2001 Group leader at the CMPG, Institute of Zoology, University of Bern, Switzerland 2000 - 2001 Postdoc at the CMPG, Institute of Zoology, University of Bern 1996 - 2000 PhD thesis with Prof. Dr. Otto von Helversen, Institute of Zoology II, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany Selected recent publications Excoffier L & Heckel G (2006) Computer programs for population genetics data analysis: a survival guide. Nature Reviews Genetics 7, 745-758. Fink S, Excoffier L & Heckel G (2006) Mammalian monogamy is not controlled by a single gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 10956-10960. pdf Heckel G, Burri R, Fink S, Desmet J-F & Excoffier L (2005) Genetic structure and colonization processes in European populations of the common vole Microtus arvalis. Evolution 59(10): 2231-2242. Voigt CC, Heckel G & Mayer F (2005) Sexual selection favours small and symmetric males in the polygynous greater sac-winged bat Saccopteryx bilineata (Emballonuridae, Chiroptera). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 57: 457-464. Hamilton G, Currat M, Ray N, Heckel G, Beaumont M & Excoffier L (2005) Bayesian estimation of recent migration rates after a spatial expansion. Genetics 170: 409-417. Fink S, Excoffier L & Heckel G (2004) Mitochondrial gene diversity in the common vole Microtus arvalis shaped by historical divergence and local adaptations. Molecular Ecology 13 (11): 3501-3514. Institution address Gerald Heckel Universität Bern Computational and Molecular Population Genetics (CMPG) Zoological Institute Baltzerstrasse 6 CH-3012 Bern Tel.: +41 31 631 30 29 Fax: +41 31 631 48 88 gerald.heckel@zoo.unibe.ch http://cmpg.unibe.ch/people/heckel.htm