Sequencing data from the male Henan game chickens
Animal aggression is one of the most conserved behaviors. Excessive and inappropriate aggression was a serious social concern across species. After long-term selection under strict stress conditions, Henan gamecock serves as a good model for studying aggressive behavior. In this research, we conducted brain transcriptomics and serum metabolomics analyses on Henan gamecock (HGR) through its comparison with its female encounters (HGH) and the male backcross birds (BGR) constructed by HGH and male Rhode Island Red (RIR). We found that seven differential metabolites and 172 differentially expressed genes were commonly shared between HGR vs HGH and HGR vs BGR comparisons respectively, and they exhibited the same patterns of modulation in Henan gamecocks, in a either HGH<HGR>BGR or HGH>HGR<BGR style. Therein, some neurological genes involving in serotonergic and dopaminergic signaling were dramatically upregulated (log2FC>4), while the levels of many genes related with neuro-immune function were decreased in Henan gamecock. Multi-omics joint analysis revealed that tyrosine metabolism and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction were commonly affected. Overall, our results suggest that Henan gamecock enhances its aggressiveness by activating the serotonergic-dopaminergic metabolic process in the brain while impairing the neuroimmune system.