Life Sciences

Human SKIP (skeletal muscle and kidney-enriched inositol phosphatase) is a 51 kDa inositol polyphosphate 5’-phosphatase that is found in many tissues including brain, eye, and abundantly in the heart, kidney and skeletal muscle.(1-2) SKIP translocates from the endoplasmic reticulum at rest to the cell membrane upon insulin signaling which stimulates protein complex formation involving the insulin receptor.(3) SKIP exhibits affinity towards the fatty acid phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate diC16 (PIP2 or PI(4,5)P2)(4) and it is thought that SKIP hydrolyzes the D-5 position of PIP2.(2) PIP2 is a phospholipid component of cell membranes where it is involved in insulin signaling.(5) The purpose of this experiment was to obtain recombinant, human, enzymatically active SKIP to be used as a tool to study signaling pathways associated with SKIP enzymatic activity. For this purpose, a HIS-SKIP chimera was produced in T7 Shuffle cells. Cultures containing T7 Shuffle cells transformed with pLATE31 SKIP were grown to log phase and protein expression was induced with IPTG (1 mM). Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) using a nickel chromatography column was used to purify HIS-SKIP. HIS-SKIP was detected at 51 kDa using a Western blot using an anti-HIS probe. HIS-SKIP was more pronounced on the Western blot as concentration increased. The total concentration of the non-pure protein mixture which included HIS-SKIP obtained was 1186 µg/ml, as determined by a Bradford assay with a BSA standard curve. The total contribution of HIS-SKIP to the total protein concentration was determined to be ~30% or , ~356 µg/ml as assessed by SDS-PAGE. SKIP enzymatic activity was not detected using the Malachite Green Standard Curve in the partially pure preparation. There may be various reasons for not detecting enzymatic activity.

Proteases are a class of enzymes whose function is to cleave peptides into smaller amino acid chains or free amino acids. Two such proteases, Acyl Peptide Enzyme Hydrolase (APEH) and acylase (ACY), function in unison to cleave N-acylated amino acids from the N-terminal end of peptides so that these peptides can become further metabolized in the cell. In this pathway, APEH will first cleave an N-acylated amino acid from the end of a peptide. Then, ACY will remove the acetyl group from the amino acid so it can be recycled or further metabolized. While the enzymatic activity of APEH and ACY have been studied extensively alone, little has been done to study flux through the pathway. Understanding enzyme flux is useful since enzymes rarely work independently of one another in vivo but rather work in a coordinated fashion to perform their respective functions. This research illustrates a novel method to observe how both enzymes work together using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). Using a selected N-acetylated dipeptide, the release of 2 free amino acids-Ala and Met- is detected by GC-MS and correlates to APEH and ACY activity, respectively. Using standard curves and time courses, the rate through APEH and ACY was determined. This method serves as a relatively simple way to study enzymes in vitro in an attempt to better understand the pathways function in vivo. In addition to measuring the flux of more than one enzyme in metabolic pathway, the use of this GCMS method has revealed that the enzymatic activity of the proteases in question do not function universally across different cell lysates. For example, it was determined that the rate of flux through APEH/ACY was 5 times faster in A549 cancer cell lysates than in normal blood lysates. The GCMS method described herein allows comparative studies of APEH/ACY flux and has potential to deepen the knowledge of how other these enzymes work together in both normal and disease states.

Alouatta palliata (the mantled howler monkey) and Ateles geoffroyi (the black handed spider monkey) are both found in the rainforests of Central and South America. The two species can coexist because they have different dietary needs, A. palliata relies on leaves (foliverous), which are abundant, while A. geoffroyi eats fruits and roots (frugivorous) which are less abundant and more patchily distributed. This difference in diet reduces competition between the species for resources. A. palliata will often form closed multimale-multifemale groups, with up to 40 individuals, and spend most of their day eating or sleeping. A. geoffroyi will typically spend their days traveling, foraging, resting, or engaged in social activities. A. geoffroyi typically lives in multimale-multifemale groups, and form a fission-fusion group structure, this means that their groups are more fluid and change often. This makes A. geoffroyi less territorial and eliminates competition for resources. Both species have an obvious male dominance hierarchy, but there is a difference in the activity pattern of the two species, with A. palliata being less active than A geoffroyi. Due to the social structures of both species, I hypothesize that I will see more affiliative behaviors in both species, than I will aggressive/agnostic. Due to the limited feeding competition in the folivorous A. palliata, I predict that the A. palliata will maintain closer intraspecific proximities than the A. geoffroyi. Data were collected at the La Selva Biological Station in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, From May 11th to May 22nd, 2017. I conducted instantaneous scan samples in five-minute increments. At each interval, I recorded their behavior and their proximity to the nearest individual. The behaviors were divided into agnostic (fight/grab, bite, and grunt/growl) and affiliative (foraging, playing, rest, traveling, and grooming), and proximities were estimated in meters. It was found that A. geoffroyi and A. palliata showed higher rates of affiliative behaviors than they did aggressive, only 1% of recorded behaviors were agnostic supporting my hypothesis. It was also found that A. palliata maintained an overall proximity of 3.45 meters and A. geoffroyi 4.2 meters. A. palliata who relies on the abundance of leaves, experienced less feeding competition, and maintained closer proximities, supporting the hypothesis. A. geoffroyi experiences greater competition due to less abundance of food, which was reflected in the farther proximities in A. palliata, which also supports the hypothesis.

The hippocampus, a location in the brain associated with learning and memory, has been shown to be a site for synaptic plasticity (the strengthening and weakening of synapses over time based on activity levels). Synaptic plasticity mechanisms such as hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression appear to be essential in memory formation. While most classical plasticity studies examined the NMDA receptor, the first receptor identified to mediate LTP, other receptors including cannabinoid receptor CB1 are also involved in various types of hippocampal plasticity. As plasticity is so critical to memory, it is necessary to understand these additional mediators of plasticity in order to provide tools to mitigate memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, which still lack effective treatments. We previously identified plasticity modification by endocannabinoid pathways that were independent of canonical CB1. Therefore, we examined novel orphan G protein-coupled receptors, GPR18 and GPR119. Both GPR18 and GPR119 can be activated by the endocannabinoid anandamide; GPR18 is also activated by THC and endogenous lipid N-arachidonyl-glycine. Using reverse transcription real-time PCR we identified GPR18 and GPR119 expression in mouse hippocampus. PCR products were isolated by gel electrophoresis to demonstrate the appropriate sized amplicon, which was cut from the gel and sequenced to validate them as GPR18 or GPR 119. To confirm PCR data, we used immunohistochemistry to examine GPR18 and GPR119 protein expression and location. We note antibody labeling of GPR18 in cell bodies of CA1, CA3 and dentate gyrus pyramidal cells. Collectively, our data indicate that GPR18 and GPR119 are expressed in the hippocampus. To determine the potential physiological roles of hippocampal GPR18 and GPR119, we performed field electrophysiology experiments. We found no differences in baseline transmission or in LTP. However, we did find significant differences in post-tetanic potentiation (PTP). We have yet to perform field electrophysiology experiments on GPR119, and also hope to look at CA3 interneuron transmission for both proteins. We then intend to use hippocampal slices from GPR18 and GPR119 knockout mice for field electrophysiology experiments. We believe our research will give important insight as to the location and possible functions of GPR18 and GPR119 in hippocampus function and memory.

Epithelia encase most of our internal organs and, indeed, the whole body. To serve as an effective barrier against pathogens, epithelia must regulate cell numbers even as cells continuously divide, grow, and die. Cell extrusion happens when a cell fated to die signals neighboring cells to squeeze it out of the epithelium using an actomyosin ring. The extruded cell may undergo apoptosis, a highly regulated process of programmed cell death, or be a live cell that later dies through anoikis, or cell death through loss of contact with the basement membrane and survival signals. Typically, cells extrude apically, away from the basal membrane, and are removed from the lumen of an organ or gland. However, some cells are able to extrude basally and survive post-extrusion, a strategy that an oncogene-bearing tumor cell might use to achieve metastasis. KRAS is one such oncogene that is often mutated in human cancer. The wildtype gene governs multiple pro-growth and survival pathways in the cell. A mutation in one amino acid, called KRasV12, converts it to an oncogene and allows the protein to be constitutively active, inappropriately enhancing its function. This often leads to runaway cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. In prior tissue culture studies we observed that KRasV12 cells are significantly more likely to extrude basally than apically, and could possibly migrate and invade. We therefore hypothesized that KRasV12-driven basal extrusion leads to metastasis, a novel idea that has never been demonstrated. We sought to test our hypothesis in a zebrafish model of epithelial cancer. We injected one-cell embryos with EGFP-labeled KRasV12 or CAAX control, sorted for embryos positive for transgenes at 24 hpf, and fixed the embryos at 48 hpf. We performed immunostaining for EGFP, E-cadherin (periderm marker) or p63 (basal cell marker), and the nucleus (DAPI). We used the expression of caspase-3, a protein activated during apoptosis, and nuclear morphology to determine cell death. Using E-cadherin or p63 expression to mark the borders of the developing epidermis, we quantified live or dying cells either on the epidermal surface or internalized into the fish body. Indeed we find that embryos with the KRasV12 oncogene have a significantly higher percentage of live internalized cells compared to control, suggesting that these may later give rise to metastases. We are currently performing live imaging studies to ascertain if KRasV12 cells spread via basal extrusion and make it to the bloodstream.

Christian Kodele, Lian Li, Jane Yang, University of Utah Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is an immune disease mostly of B-cell origin (eighty-five percent of the time) as well as the ninth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Although treatments for NHLs greatly improved following the FDA approval of Rituximab (RTX), refractive malignancies still occur that are nonresponsive and/or resistance to current therapies in at least a third of all patients. This has been attributed both to the inability of immune effector cells (eg., macrophages, natural killer cells) to hypercrosslink ligated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), and to Fc receptor (FcR)-mediated endocytosis or ÛÏtrogocytosisÛ of CD20 antigens. In order to address these clinical obstacles, we designed a novel paradigm in macromolecular therapeutics that can specifically kill cancer cells without a drug. This paradigm is based on the use of anti-CD20 Fab’ fragments in a multivalent system. Crosslinking of CD20 receptors leads to receptor clustering, transfer to lipid rafts, opening of a calcium channel, and ultimately apoptosis. Additionally, the removal of the Fc fragment resulted enticingly in both the rendering of the system to be immune dependent and in decreasing the numerous adverse effects. In this study, we have used human serum albumin (HSA) as the multivalent carrier of RTX based Fab’ fragments. We have covalently attached multiple Fab’ fragments to HSA, characterized the nanoconjugate’s physiochemical properties, and evaluated its efficacy to induce apoptosis of Raji B cells in vitro. The efficacy of the nanoconjugate to induce apoptosis was determined with Annexin V assay and flow cytometry. The interaction of the nanoconstruct with Raji cells was characterized using confocal microscopy of Cy5 labeled conjugates. As predicted, the HSA-(Fab’)x conjugate was able to induce cell death in vitro. The results of the Annexin V apoptosis assay showed that 38.9 percent of the cell population treated with the conjugate became apoptotic, while 13.6 and 15.7 percent of the cell populations untreated and treated with whole RTX mAb became apoptotic respectively. Furthermore, images recorded by use of confocal microscopy suggest that the attachment of HSA-(Fab’)x conjugate to the cell membrane is CD20 specific. While not conclusive, the combination of these results suggest that the mechanism of action involves cross-linking of the CD20 receptor, which subsequently induces apoptosis. We believe these results warrant further investigation of the mechanism of action of HSA-(Fab’)x, as well as the treatment potential of this nanoconjugate.

In many species, including humans, a decline in reproductive ability is associated with many deleterious health conditions. Some species maintain reproductive ability throughout life, and reproductive decline is often associated with the end of life. Ovary function in particular seems to be correlated in longevity. Previous studies suggest that preserved ovarian function is correlated with increased mean lifespan; however, the role of the germ cells within the ovary is not well understood To investigate the relationship between germ cells and somatic cells and their role in expanding longevity, this project measured the life span of 17-month-old mice that received either germ cell-containing ovaries or germ cell-depleted (somatic-only) ovaries. In this experiment, young, germ cell-containing and germ cell-depleted ovaries from 60-day-old mice were transplanted into 17-month-old mice. Life span was then observed and contrasted with the mean life span in this line of female mice (644 days). In the recipient mice that possessed germ cell-containing ovaries, life span increased by 10%. This result was similar to previous experiments where mice received transplants at 11 months of age and life span was increased by 11%, suggesting the age at transplant had little influence on remaining life span. However, when germ cells were depleted from the young ovaries prior to transplantation, life span was increased by 21%. These results suggest that somatic cells have a major role in longevity and that the germ cells were not essential for reproduction-directed extension of life span. While germ cell-depleted ovaries lacked germ cells, the somatic cells remained intact and functional. This may indicate that somatic cell function is necessary within ovaries to produce and increase in life span as seen with other studies. From these results, germ cell depletion can be concluded to significantly increase lifespan within our mice subjects. Germ cell-depleted ovaries lead to increased lifespan and health span. Further experiments will be done in order to analyze ovary effect on longevity. Current experiments are being conducted to analyze in what ways ovaries influence longevity and overall health. This question is the basis for experiments currently being conducted.

Objectives We evaluated the effects of different levels of stored iron (ferritin) within normal ranges on immune cell group production and inflammation markers in cross-country athletes. Research Methodology Forty-one NCAA division 1 cross-country athletes, ages 18 to 25 years old (Male: 19; Female; 22), had blood drawn at the beginning of the cross country season. Blood was collected from subjects and analyzed by complete blood count (CBC) at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah. Enzymatic spectrophotometry was used to determine participants ferritin levels. Cytokines IL-1β IL-6, IL10, GM-CSF, IL-5, and IL-4 were measured at baseline by the magnetic multiplex panel for Luminex TM platform (at University of Connecticut). Based on ferritin levels, participants were divided into two groups, high ferritin, and low ferritin. Student’s t-test was used to compare cytokines and CBC mean difference between low and high ferritin groups. Pearson correlations were used to determine associations between cells groups and cytokines under low or high ferritin conditions. IBM SPSS statistics 22 software for Windows was used to analyze the collected data. Results Participants in the high ferritin group had higher levels of IL-1β (p=0.04) and IL-5 (p=0.05) and eosinophils (p=0.02) when compared to the low ferritin counterparts. In contrast, IL-4 (p=0.04) was significantly higher in the low ferritin group. Moderate-strong correlations were found between eosinophils and cytokines; IL-1β (r=0.64) and IL-5 (r=0.59) in the high ferritin group. Conversely, eosinophils from the low ferritin group correlated strongly with IL-4 (r=0.86) Conclusions In this study, it was observed that eosinophils correlated with different cytokines depending on the iron storage status. Our results are in accordance with previous studies showing that IL-1β down regulates ferroportin (FPN) by increasing hepcidin levels which in turn decrease iron absorption. As iron storage in the form of ferritin increases, the need to absorb iron decreases inversely to IL-1β. Additionally, we observed increases in IL-4 in the low ferritin group. IL-4 has been observed to signal an increase in iron uptake (absorption) and mobilization. This is accomplished through transferrin (Tfn) expression. Furthermore, eosinophils and IL-5 were higher in the high ferritin group. IL-5 is a hematopoietic cytokine produced by eosinophils, it is possible that the increases in this biomarker were linked to the increases in red blood cell production observed on the high ferritin athlete group. Our results indicate that Iron storage status measured by ferritin levels may modulate cytokine release and immune cell profile.

Every year, nearly 20,000 American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) raise young on Gunnison Island in the North arm of the Great Salt Lake. The Gunnison Island pelican colony is the second largest in the Western United States, and is crucial to the maintenance and viability of the species. Pelicans in Utah are increasing in number, which is a conservation success story, but larger numbers of the birds means a higher likelihood of range extension in search of resources. As a result, serious concerns have been raised about pelican resource use, including eating game fish from reservoirs and colliding with airplanes. To specifically address some of these concerns and to understand basic population ecology, The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) outfits adult pelicans with solar-powered transmitter backpacks and bands around 500 juvenile pelicans annually. In general, only large-bodied fledgling birds, which are chosen based on sight alone, are selected to be banded, with smaller birds being released. The primary goal of this research project was to correlate and make recommendations for reliable morphometrics that could quickly and quantitatively be used to select pelicans for banding. To do so we collected morphometric data from both banded and nonbanded fledgling pelicans during the annual UDWR event. Measurements included beak length, weight, tarsal-metatarsal diameter, tarsal-phalanges diameter, and parasite load. Our findings suggested that beak length correlated most strongly with pelican weight, and would therefore be the most reliable morphometric to use. Our secondary goal was to understand the effects of banding on fledgling survival. This process included a tag sweep of Gunnison Island prior to pelican arrival and right after departure. Later research will determine survival rates for each size group. This research will help answer the question of whether or not the current banding system impacts pelican survival. Additionally, increasing our understanding of population dynamics will help conservation managers construct plans that ease tensions between the natural resource (pelicans) and other land-use shareholders.

In evolutionary/systematic biology, phylogenetic reconstruction relies on hypotheses gleaned from historical (usually fossil/ paleontological), morphological, or molecular data—compounded and analyzed by various statistical or logical methods that are intended to yield the most accurate evolutionary tree based on the data entered. Phylogenetic discordance usually occurs when different genetic data generate competing evolutionary hypotheses; or it is uncertain which, of all espoused, is the true phylogeny. Discordance is philosophically interesting because it can, in certain cases, pull apart justificatory sources concerning alternative analytical methods—especially in cases where the same data and evolutionary parameters are assumed, but discordant phylogenies nonetheless result. In other cases, discordance can allow us to understand genetic and lineage persistence, divergence, and manifestation over time—especially in cases where isolated molecular data (e.g. mitochondrial DNA versus nuclear DNA) generate discordant phylogenies for the same groups of organisms. Discordance can often be the foundation for discussion about the ontological status of species, about what should count as phylogenetic data, about what kinds of assumptions we should make regarding the nature of evolution, and so on. Understanding discordance provides a framework for understanding the nature of the scientific method and knowledge production therein; and specifically, in this case the precarious nature of phylogenetic reconstruction. Discordance shows us that even today, systematics is a dynamic and malleable process, in which the only thing really set in stone might be the paleontological data. In partnership with the GSLC, we began with a simple case: Divergent histories of the Polar Bear/Brown Bear complex, analyzed using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Though both are ‘molecular data’, each convey a slightly different genetic history. Nonetheless, it turns out, contributing valuable evidence about the truly unique and intertwined histories of the two bear lineages. For our research we attended the Evolution Meetings, hosted annually by ASN, SSB, and SSE (this year in Portland, Oregon). We sought out similar cases of contemporary discordance presented by current evolutionary biologists from around the world. We have been working with the GSLC to provide these concrete cases in hopes of creating a module that would simply and clearly demonstrate modern attempts by real biologists to grapple with discordance. Our poster displays some of the most tractable cases, which illuminate Discordance engendered both by conflicting data, and by conflicting analytical methods. We have also outlined our current research project into the justificatory purchase of Parsimony, stemming from this endeavor.

are used to distinguish meaning in a second language (L2). For example, Spanish learners must acquire the /i/-/ ɪ/ contrast to distinguish the words ‘sheep’ and ‘ship’. However, much less work has investigated the acquisition of L2 allophones (variant pronunciations of a contrastive sound which do not distinguish meaning in a language). For example, an English-speaking learner of Spanish must learn that [b] does not sound the same at the beginning of a word as it does between vowels. In the present study, we investigate how L2 allophones are acquired. In particular, we examine whether adult L2 learners can make use of lexical cues from sound-meaning pairings. Participants were exposed to 16 words from an artificial language (8 differing in the sounds [m]-[l] and 8 differing in [b]-[β]). Each word was presented auditorily at the same time as an image depicting its meaning appeared on the computer screen. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two exposure conditions (Same Image and Different Image). Participants in the Different Image group heard auditorily words differing only in the sounds [b] and [β] paired with two distinct images (e.g. [bati] ‘apple’, [βati] ‘penguin’), whereas the Same Image group were exposed to the same auditory words but saw a single image (e.g. [bati] ‘penguin’, [βati] ‘penguin’). At test, participants were shown images and heard an auditory form and had to determine if they matched or mismatched. Taking advantage of the fact that sound contrasts that are used to distinguish word meaning are perceived more readily than sound differences that do not, participants in the Different Image group should perform more accurately at test then those in the Same image group for the [b-β] contrast. A second test examined whether participants’ extend their knowledge about the sounds to a new set of words. Participants were exposed to 6 new words (3 [b] and 3 [β]), but not their similar sounding pair (e.g. they were exposed to [βanu] ‘elephant’, but never heard [banu]). At test, they again decided whether learned auditory stimuli matched pictures. If adult L2 learners do utilize the lexical cues to learn about L2 sounds, then the Different Image group should more readily detect mismatches that contain the [b-β] contrast than the Same Image group.

Medical and biological research depends on successful protein detection. One method of protein detection is by mass spectrometry, where the proteins are detected according to their mass and charge. Mass and charge result in a mass to charge ratio (m/z). This method is simple and effective because it requires extremely small amounts of sample and can run hundreds of experiments over the course of an hour. One limitation in using mass spectrometry for protein research is caused by the large molecular mass of proteins. Protiens have large molecular weights, such as ~12,000 grams per mole for cytochrome c, in comparison to other ions, such as 85 grams per mole for rubidium ion. Mass spectrometers have less accurate measurements at when the m/z ratio is large. Increasing the charge, however, allows protein ions to be detected at lower m/z ratios and can result in more accurate measurements. Our project focuses on using additives in the solvent sprayed to increase the charge state on the protein when it is sprayed, also called supercharging. This will allow the protein to obtain greater resolution and signal in mass spectrometers. This would increase the effectiveness of research on proteins that have medical and biologically important applications, such as curing Alzheimer’s, fighting cancer, and combating diabetes. In our experiments, we will be using Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FTICR-MS) coupled with Electrospray Ionization (ESI). Solutions containing proteins, potential supercharging additives, and a supporting solvent will be sprayed from a small capillary against a charged plate, which will generate protein ions in the gas phase. This is ESI. The ions will then enter the mass spectrometer and spin within the electromagnetic field generated by a cyromagnet, and then the observed m/z ratios will be Fourier transformed. This is FTICR. The types and concentrations of proteins and additives will be to test the effectiveness of different additives on different proteins. In a lab in California, it was observed that using smaller glass tips for electrospray resulted in higher charge states for the proteins sprayed. This leads us to expect that adding silicate to the solutions will have a similar effect. We also anticipate that other potential additives will be found and can then be used as well.

Studies show that social relationships play a role in physical and mental health and that an individual’s genetic variation may influence their sociability. It is widely believed that the serotonin and oxytocin systems influence social behavior. The two variants of the serotonin transporter (SERT) gene code for efficiency of the serotonin system, with the long (L) allele associated with greater efficiency and the short (s) allele associated with lower efficiency. The two variants of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene code for availability of oxytocin, with the ancestral allele (G) associated with increased oxytocin availability and the mutant allele (A) leading to lower availability. While these genes are present in humans, orthologous SERT and OXTR genes are present among rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), a nonhuman primate species commonly used in translational research assessing genetic contributions to behavior due to their genetic, social, and physiological similarities to humans. To assess the contributions of SERT and OXTR genotypes to social behavior, at three-to-four months of age, blood samples were obtained from 127 rhesus monkeys (55 males, 72 females) housed in large social groups of 100 or more members. DNA was extracted and genotyped for the SERT genotype for all subjects and OXTR genotype for 33 subjects. As adults (M=6.23 years), subjects’ affiliative behaviors (e.g., number of social partners, rates of grooming, initiating social affiliation, and their frequency of social proximity) were recorded by trained observers during four 300-second observations. One-way ANOVA with genotype as the independent variable and social behaviors as the dependent variables were used to determine the relationship between genotype and affiliative behaviors. An association between SERT genotype and subjects’ average number of social partners neared traditional statistical significance (F(2,117)=2.749, p = 0.068), with a posteriori analyses showing that subjects homozygous for the L allele exhibited significantly more social partners when compared to subjects homozygous for the s-allele subjects. Further, OXTR genotype was associated with the frequency of receiving groom from social group members (F(2,26)=8.058, p = 0.002), with a posteriori analyses showing that subjects that were homozygous for the A allele showed increased rates of being groomed by others when compared to subjects with other genotypes. These findings suggest that subjects homozygous for the L allele for the SERT gene and subjects homozygous for the A allele for the OXTR genotype showed evidence for greater affiliation than do subjects with other genotypes.