Some volunteers took a perimeter-first approach, the team reports — these were the “assessors” — while others dove right into the thick of it — these are the “locomotors”. Next, the team looked at the differences in the human equivalent of the PRKG1 — a nucleotide polymorphism genotype called rs13499 — among these participants, and compare them with those seen in fruit flies.
Prior research has shown that one variant of the PRKG1 gene pushes flies towards the “assessor” pattern of behavior, while another makes them “locomotors”. Upon entering an area, assessors are more likely to tour its perimeter first, then move inward. Locomotors, in contrast, make a beeline for the first fruits they see.
If you’re thinking ‘hey, those behaviors seem pretty similar,’ you’re spot on. The team reports finding the same gene variants responsible for instigating locomotor or assessor behavior in fruit flies in their college participants, having the same effect in both species. They further note that the search paths taken by the human volunteers and the sitter and rover fruit flies were nearly identical.
The findings suggest that this gene-induced preference in foraging patterns likely holds for other species as well. The team adds that their findings also suggest the patterns of behavior we employ when pursuing our goals can also be connected with these two gene variants.
The paper “Self-regulation and the foraging gene (PRKG1) in humans” has been published in the journal PNAS.
