Andres Bendesky, MD, PhD
Research Interest
There are profound differences in behavior among individuals of a species and across species. Much effort has been devoted to the observation and theory of behavioral variation, but the molecular, genetic, and neurobiological mechanisms that generate and maintain such diversity are largely unknown. My lab studies the mechanisms of behavioral variation from genetic and neurobiological angles—by identifying specific genes involved and how they impact the brain, and by characterizing functional variation in neuronal circuits. We then analyze the common themes that emerge to describe the evolution of behavior.
Inspired by the evolution of behavior and ethology, my lab also studies the neurobiology of social and other complex behaviors important to animals in their habitat by using the right species for specific questions, such as pair bonding, parental care, response to threats, and aggression.
Work in my lab focuses primarily on deer mice (genus Peromyscus) and on Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Deer mice are an excellent system to study natural variation in behavior because (1) there is a large diversity of behavior within and among species and many of these species are interfertile, permitting forward genetic analyses; (2) Peromyscus is diverged from laboratory mice and rats, providing an opportunity to discover biological features that differ from traditional model species; nonetheless, many tools developed for laboratory mice and rats also work in Peromyscus; and (3) Peromyscus mice can breed in the laboratory in the same conditions as laboratory mice, allowing us to perform controlled experiments. Siamese fighting fish have been selectively bred for fighting for over 1,000 years, which has made them exquisitely aggressive. We study the neurobiological bases of their aggressive behavior and how evolution has shaped their genes, brains and behavior.
- MD, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
- PhD, Rockefeller University
Everett C, Norovich AL, Burke JE, Whiteway M, Villamayor PR, Shih P-Y, Zhu Y, Paninski L, Bendesky A. Coordination and persistence of aggressive visual communication in Siamese fighting fish. bioRxiv. 2024
Evolution of a novel adrenal cell type that promotes parental care
Niepoth N, Merritt JR, Uminski M, Lei E, Esquibies VS, Bando IB, Hernandez K, Gebhardt C, Wacker SA, Lutzu S, Poudel A, Soma KK, Rudolph S & Bendesky A
Nature. 2024 May 30
Scientific and media coverage
News and Views: Tollkuhn J. Parental-care puzzle in mice solved by thinking outside the brain Nature. 2024;629:1006-1008.
Elana Spivack. What Makes Some Mice Such Good Parents? This Newly Discovered Cell, Maybe. Inverse. May 15, 2024.
Judith de Jorge. Hallan un nuevo tipo de célula que promueve el cuidado parental. Diario ABC. May 17 2024.
Mark Johnson. Some mice have a cheating heart. It’s a hormonal thing, scientists find. The Washington Post. May 16 2024.
The main genetic locus associated with the evolution of gamecocks is centered on ISPD
Bendesky A, Brew J, Francis KX, Corbetto EFT, González Ariza A, Nogales Baena S, Shimmura T
G3 (Bethesda). 2023 Nov 22
Media coverage
Miriam Bergeret. A genome-wide association study published in G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics offers insights into the genetic origins of aggression in gamecocks. Genes to Genomes. April 4, 2024.
Genetic manipulation of betta fish
Palmiotti A, Lichak MR, Shih PY, Kwon YM, Bendesky A
Front Genome Ed. 2023 Jul 21;5:1167093
Post-mating parental behavior trajectories differ across four species of deer mice
Khadraoui M, Merritt JR, Hoekstra HE, Bendesky A
PLoS ONE 2022 Oct 17;17(10)
Parent-offspring inference in inbred populations
Runge JN, König B, Lindholm AK, Bendesky A
Mol Ecol Resour. 2022 Jun 29
Care and use of Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) for research
Lichak MR, Barber JR, Kwon YM, Francis KX, Bendesky A
Comp Med. 2022 Jun 14;72(3):169-180
Genomic consequences of domestication of the Siamese fighting fish
Kwon YM, Vranken N, Hoge C, Lichak MR, Norovich AL, Francis KX, Camacho-Garcia J, Bista I, Wood J, McCarthy S, Chow W, Tan HH, Howe K, Bandara S, von Lintig J, Rüber L, Durbin R, Svardal H, Bendesky A
Sci Adv. 2022 Mar 11;8(10):abm4950
Media coverage
Annie Roth. The 1,000-Year Secret That Made Betta Fish Beautiful. New York Times. May 14, 2021.
Sarah Zhang. The Surprise Hiding in the DNA of Pet Fish. The Atlantic. May 14, 2021.
Christie Wilcox. My Daughter’s First Pet—the Next Big Model Organism? The Scientist. Jul 15, 2021.
WHotLAMP: A simple, inexpensive, and sensitive molecular test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva
Ng D, Pinharanda A, Vogt MC… Bendesky A
PLoS ONE 2021 Sep 16 16(9):e0257464
How natural genetic variation shapes behavior
Niepoth N, Bendesky A
Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 2020 Apr 13
The genetic basis of parental care evolution in monogamous mice
Bendesky A, Kwon YM, Lassance J, Lewarch CL, Yao S, Peterson BK, He MX, Dulac C, Hoekstra HE
Nature. 2017 Apr 27;544(7651):434-9.
Scientific and media coverage
News and Views: Phelps SM. Animal behaviour: How to build a better dad. Nature. 2017;544:418–419.
Snyder-Mackler M, Tung J. Vasopressin and the Neurogenetics of Parental Care. Neuron. 2017;95:9-11
Hager R. The Genes That Make a Good Parent. Trends in Genetics. 2017;33:492-494.
Carl Zimmer. Why Are Some Mice (and People) Monogamous? A Study Points to Genes. New York Times. April 19, 2017.
Andrea Marks. The Mouse Parent Trap. Scientific American. July 2017.
Catecholamine receptor polymorphisms affect decision-making in C. elegans
Bendesky A, Tsunozaki M, Rockman MV, Kruglyak L, Bargmann CI
Nature. 2011 Apr 21;472(7343):313-8.
For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov
- Circuits Neuroscience
- Neuroethology
- Social Behavior
- Behavioral Genetics
- Evolution of Brain and Behavior
- Mechanisms of Behavioral Diversity