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How did humans tame wild animals before domestication had fixed behavioural traits in their genomes? This project proposes a shift in understanding early behavioural change during domestication. Rather than focusing solely on genetic changes in the brain, we hypothesise that rapid tameness evolved through changes in the gut microbiome, shaped by selection on host genetic or epigenetic variation influencing microbial communities. 

These microbes can modulate behaviour via the gut–brain axis, producing neuroactive compounds that affect fear, stress responses, and sociality.We will test this idea through a two-pronged approach. First, we will generate multi-omic (genomic, microbiome, epigenomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic) data from a new experimental model involving wild-derived Dobruja hamsters, selected over multiple generations for tame or aggressive behaviour under strictly controlled conditions. Second, we will conduct comparative analyses of existing multi-generation selection datasets from other domestication models, including Belyaev foxes, rats, and red junglefowl, using the same analytic pipelines to assess the generality of observed patterns.

This exploratory project may shift the understanding of behavioural evolution in animals by revealing a microbial dimension to early tameness. It brings together expertise in evolutionary biology, hologenomics, and behavioural neuroscience, and builds on existing infrastructure for multi-omic data generation and integrative analysis.