Estrogen receptor α polymorphism in a species with alternative behavioral phenotypes

In this series of studies, we provide a rare illustration of how a chromosomal polymorphism has affected overt social behavior in a vertebrate. White-throated sparrows occur in two alternative phenotypes, or morphs, distinguished by a chromosomal rearrangement. That the morphs differ in territorial and parental behavior has been known for decades, but how the rearrangement affects behavior is not understood. Here we show that genetic differentiation between the morphs affects the transcription of a gene well known to be involved in social behavior. We then show that in a free-living population, the neural expression of this gene predicts both territorial and parental behavior. We hypothesize that this mechanism has played a causal role in the evolution of alternative life-history strategies.