The Male Vole & Monogamy

DNA Tweak Turns Vole Mates Into Soul Mates
Promiscuous mammals become stay-at-home dads in a study. There’s no cure yet for humans.

By Alan Zarembo, Times Staff Writer

Scientists working with a rat-like animal called a vole have found that promiscuous males can be reprogrammed into monogamous partners by introducing a single gene into a specific part of their brains.

Once they have been converted, the voles hang around the family nests and even huddle with their female partners after sex.

The results suggest that “a mutation in a single gene can have a profound impact on complex social behavior,” said Larry Young, a neuroscientist at Emory University who reports the results in the current issue of the journal Nature.

The research, Young said, could help shed light on monogamy