Everybody poops, as the saying goes. So it’s easy to think of poop as a class unifier that brings animals together across divides. Scientifically speaking though, it’s not–at least when it comes to hyenas. Spotted hyenas of high and low social status have acquired genetic differences, detectable in their scat, according to new research. In other words: Biologists can discriminate between high and low ranking hyenas through feces analysis, finding “molecular signatures of social status,” per a study published March 28 in the journal Communications Biology.
In hyena society, some individuals dominate over others. The resulting ranks determine how animals interact and acquire food. Higher status hyenas can be seen as more popular, engaging in more frequent and successful social contact. They also have to put in less work to eat. The new study shows these social norms have far-reaching effects, even altering an animal’s DNA.
When the environment affects genes
These DNA alterations come in the form of epigenetic changes, or shifts in how genes are expressed in response to environmental conditions. At 149 epigenetic sites within gut cells extracted from scat samples, high status and low status hyenas show significant differences. Between the two groups of animals, consistent variations in DNA methylation–a process where methyl groups bind to regions of the genome within a cell, and silence certain genes–are detectable.
Lots of things influence DNA methylation–much of it is inherited, but some of it is acquired throughout life. Things like food availability, activity level, stress, competition, or exposure to pollutants can all prompt changes in methylation, and thus gene…
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