Why is it impossible to guarantee an animal’s personality based on its genetics? Alternately, why is a solid upbringing alone also not enough to guarantee the personality you want? In this class, we will dive in to the nitty-gritty of how genetics and environments work together to sculpt a personality. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of various approaches for measuring personality in research studies and some possible solutions. We’ll learn about the tools scientists use to seek genes responsible for affecting particular personality traits, and we’ll review some recent studies which have suggested roles of particular genes in controlling behavioral traits in humans and companion animals. Finally, we’ll learn the basics of epigenetics, a new discipline within genetics that describes how complex traits like behavior can be encoded into an animal’s genetic material even as an adult. This is a class in behavioral genetics. Specifically, the class will cover:  Specifics of how complex traits (e.g., traits affected both many genes) interact with the environment (“gene-by- environment interactions”)  measuring complex traits like personality: pros and cons of different approaches  tools for understanding the genetics of a complex trait (the candidate gene approach, genome-wide association studies, gene expression studies, selective sweep studies, test breedings, and breed comparisons)  a short review of classic and recent literature in behavioral genetics in humans and companion animals  epigenetics (transgenerational epigenetics, methylation, acetylation, DNA conformation)

Sponsor:IAABC
Speaker(s):Jessica Hekman, DVM, MS

Contact: IAABC
 Email: courses@iaabc.org
 Web: http://iaabc.org/