Marla B. Sokolowski
Professor
Campus
St. George (downtown)
CSB Appointment
Cross
Research Areas
Animal Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics / Genomics, Molecular Biology
Education
Ph.D. University of Toronto 1981
B.Sc. University of Toronto 1973
Titles and Honors
University Professor
Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Weston Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Senior Fellow CIFAR
Senior Fellow Massey College
Primary Undergraduate Department
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Graduate Programs
Cell & Systems Biology
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Research Description
Prof. Sokolowski is interested in how DNA variation predisposes organisms to be more or less affected by their experiences (gene-environment interactions), how our experience gets embedded in our biology (epigenetics) and finally how DNA variation interacts with epigenetic processes to affect behavior. Experiential effects can occur on different time scales. For example, nutritional or social adversity (or enrichment) can occur throughout an organism’s life, in early life alone with enduring effects on later life stages, or acutely over a matter of minutes or hours. Her lab takes a genetic perspective using mostly Drosophila melanogaster but also rats and humans and consider both single genes and pathways. This approach provides interesting opportunities and challenges because many genes and pathways that modulate behavior are pleiotropic, they have multiple functions and do themselves exhibit plastic responses to experience. Recently her lab discovered the molecular basis of behavioural pleiotropy of the foraging gene in Drosophila melanogaster.
Contact Information
Office Phone: 416-978-8501
Office: ESC2070
Lab: ESC2087/2088
Lab Phone: 416-978-3139
Email
Mailing Address
Department of Cell & Systems Biology
University of Toronto
25 Willcocks St.
Toronto, ON M5S 3B2
Canada
Publications
Sinha, S., Jones, M.B., Traniello, I.M., Bukhari, S.A., Halfon, M.S., Hofmann, H.A., Huang, S., Katz, P.S., Keagy, J., Lynch, V.J., Sokolowski, M.B., Stubbs, L.J., Tabe-Bordbar, S., Wolfner, M.F., Robinson, G.E. 2020. Behavior-related gene regulatory networks: a new level of organization in the brain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci (in press).
+Williams K.D. and Sokolowski, M.B. Phenotypic plasticity and insect behaviour. Chapter 5. In Insect Behavior from mechanisms to ecological and evolutionary consequences. Alex Córdoba Aguilar, Daniel González-Tokman & Isaac González-Santoyo (Editors). Cambridge University Press. (in press Oct 2017). (BOOK)
Sokolowski, H.M., Vasquez, O.E., Unternaehrer, E., Sokolowski, D.J. Biergans, S.D., Atkinson, L., Gonzalez, A., Silveira, P.P., Levitan, R., O’Donnell, K.J., Steiner, M., Kennedy, J., Meaney, M.J., Fleming, A.S., Sokolowski M.B. on behalf of the MAVAN and Toronto Longitudinal Cohort research teams. (2017). The Drosophila foraging gene human orthologue PRKG1 predicts individual differences in the effects of early adversity on maternal sensitivity. Cognitive Development 42: 62-73.
2020
Early Adversity, Symptoms of Depression and Breastfeeding
Jonas W, Fleming A, Steiner M, Meaney M, Atkinson L, Mileva V, Sokolowski M, Kennedy J
2020, European Psychiatry, 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.148
2019
Self-regulation and theforaginggene (PRKG1) in humans
Struk AA, Mugon J, Huston A, Scholer AA, Stadler G, Higgins ET, Sokolowski MB, Danckert J
2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 10.1073/pnas.1809924116
Epigenetic regulation of behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
Anreiter I, Biergans SD, Sokolowski MB
2019, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.06.010
Drosophila melanogaster foraging regulates a nociceptive-like escape behavior through a developmentally plastic sensory circuit
Dason JS, Cheung A, Anreiter I, Montemurri VA, Allen AM, Sokolowski MB
2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 10.1073/pnas.1820840116
Biological embedding of experience: A primer on epigenetics
Aristizabal MJ, Anreiter I, Halldorsdottir T, Odgers CL, McDade TW, Goldenberg A, Mostafavi S, Kobor MS, Binder EB, Sokolowski MB, O’Donnell KJ
2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 10.1073/pnas.1820838116
The foraging Gene and Its Behavioral Effects: Pleiotropy and Plasticity
Anreiter I, Sokolowski MB
2019, Annual Review of Genetics, 10.1146/annurev-genet-112618-043536
2018
The adult foraging assay (AFA) detects strain and food-deprivation effects in feeding-related traits of Drosophila melanogaster
Hughson BN, Anreiter I, Jackson Chornenki NL, Murphy KR, Ja WW, Huber R, Sokolowski MB
2018, Journal of Insect Physiology, 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2017.08.011
Fetal growth interacts with multilocus genetic score reflecting dopamine signaling capacity to predict spontaneous sugar intake in children
Silveira PP, Pokhvisneva I, Gaudreau H, Atkinson L, Fleming AS, Sokolowski MB, Steiner M, Kennedy JL, Dubé L, Levitan RD, Meaney MJ
2018, Appetite, 10.1016/j.appet.2017.10.021
Deciphering pleiotropy: How complex genes regulate behavior
Anreiter I, Sokolowski MB
2018, Communicative & Integrative Biology, 10.1080/19420889.2018.1447743
2017
Aggressive behaviours, food deprivation and the foraging gene
Wang S, Sokolowski MB
2017, Royal Society Open Science, 10.1098/rsos.170042
An ant–plant mutualism through the lens of cGMP-dependent kinase genes
Malé PG, Turner KM, Doha M, Anreiter I, Allen AM, Sokolowski MB, Frederickson ME
2017, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 10.1098/rspb.2017.0896
Epigenetic switch turns on genetic behavioral variations
Ben-Shahar Y
2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 10.1073/pnas.1717376114
Gene–Environment Interplay and Individual Differences in Behavior
Anreiter I, Sokolowski HM, Sokolowski MB
2017, Mind, Brain, and Education, 10.1111/mbe.12158
Aggressive behaviours, food deprivation and the foraging gene
Wang S, Sokolowski MB
2017, Royal Society Open Science, 10.1098/rsos.170042
An ant–plant mutualism through the lens of cGMP-dependent kinase genes
Malé PG, Turner KM, Doha M, Anreiter I, Allen AM, Sokolowski MB, Frederickson ME
2017, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 10.1098/rspb.2017.0896
Epigenetic mechanisms modulate differences in Drosophila foraging behavior
Anreiter I, Kramer JM, Sokolowski MB
2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 10.1073/pnas.1710770114
Gene–Environment Interplay and Individual Differences in Behavior
Anreiter I, Sokolowski HM, Sokolowski MB
2017, Mind, Brain, and Education, 10.1111/mbe.12158
2016
Feeding-Related Traits Are Affected by Dosage of the foraging Gene in Drosophila melanogaster
Allen AM, Anreiter I, Neville MC, Sokolowski MB
2016, Genetics, 10.1534/genetics.116.197939
Feeding-Related Traits Are Affected by Dosage of the foraging Gene in Drosophila melanogaster
Allen AM, Anreiter I, Neville MC, Sokolowski MB
2016, Genetics, 10.1534/genetics.116.197939
2014
Gene-environment interplay in Drosophila melanogaster: Chronic nutritional deprivation in larval life affects adult fecal output
Urquhart-Cronish M, Sokolowski MB
2014, Journal of insect physiology, 24929224
Na+/K+-ATPase trafficking induced by heat shock pretreatment correlates with increased resistance to anoxia in locusts
Hou N, Armstrong GA, Chakraborty-Chatterjee M, Sokolowski MB, Robertson RM
2014, Journal of neurophysiology, 24848469
2013
Social environment influences performance in a cognitive task in natural variants of the foraging gene
Kohn NR, Reaume CJ, Moreno C, Burns JG, Sokolowski MB, Mery F
2013, PloS one, 8, e81272, 24349049
The effects of parity and maternal behavior on gene expression in the medial preoptic area and the medial amygdala in postpartum and virgin female rats: A microarray study
Akbari EM, Shams S, Belay HT, Kaiguo M, Razak Z, Kent CF, Westwood T, Sokolowski MB, Fleming AS
2013, Behavioral neuroscience, 127, 913-22, 24341715
Association between the seven-repeat allele of the dopamine-4 receptor gene (DRD4) and spontaneous food intake in pre-school children
Silveira PP, Portella AK, Kennedy JL, Gaudreau H, Davis C, Steiner M, Soares CN, Matthews SG, Sokolowski MB, Dubé L, Loucks EB, Hamilton J, Meaney MJ, Levitan RD,
2014, Appetite, 73, 15-22, 24153108
Interaction between oxytocin genotypes and early experience predicts quality of mothering and postpartum mood
Mileva-Seitz V, Steiner M, Atkinson L, Meaney MJ, Levitan R, Kennedy JL, Sokolowski MB, Fleming AS
2013, PloS one, 8, e61443, 23637833
2012
A genetic screen for olfactory habituation mutations in Drosophila: analysis of novel foraging alleles and an underlying neural circuit
Eddison M, Belay AT, Sokolowski MB, Heberlein U
2012, PloS one, 7, e51684, 23284741
Gene-environment interplay in Drosophila melanogaster: chronic food deprivation in early life affects adult exploratory and fitness traits
Burns JG, Svetec N, Rowe L, Mery F, Dolan MJ, Boyce WT, Sokolowski MB
2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109 Suppl 2, 17239-44, 23045644
Toward a new biology of social adversity
Boyce WT, Sokolowski MB, Robinson GE
2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109 Suppl 2, 17143-8, 23045689
The visual orientation memory of Drosophila requires Foraging (PKG) upstream of Ignorant (RSK2) in ring neurons of the central complex
Kuntz S, Poeck B, Sokolowski MB, Strauss R
2012, Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 19, 337-40, 22815538
Foraging alters resilience/vulnerability to sleep disruption and starvation in Drosophila
Donlea J, Leahy A, Thimgan MS, Suzuki Y, Hughson BN, Sokolowski MB, Shaw PJ
2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109, 2613-8, 22308351
Advances in Genetics. Preface
Sokolowski MB, Goodwin SF
2012, Advances in genetics, 77, ix-x, 22902128
2011
Conservation of gene function in behaviour
Reaume CJ, Sokolowski MB
2011, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 366, 2100-10, 21690128
Epigenetic regulation of learning and memory by Drosophila EHMT/G9a
Kramer JM, Kochinke K, Oortveld MA, Marks H, Kramer D, de Jong EK, Asztalos Z, Westwood JT, Stunnenberg HG, Sokolowski MB, Keleman K, Zhou H, van Bokhoven H, Schenck A
2011, PLoS biology, 9, e1000569, 21245904
2010
A natural genetic polymorphism affects retroactive interference in Drosophila melanogaster
Reaume CJ, Sokolowski MB, Mery F
2011, Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 278, 91-8, 20667877
Quantitative trait locus mapping of gravitaxis behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster
Desroches CE, Busto M, Riedl CA, Mackay TF, Sokolowski MB
2010, Genetics research, 92, 167-74, 20667161
Genotype-by-diet interactions drive metabolic phenotype variation in Drosophila melanogaster
Reed LK, Williams S, Springston M, Brown J, Freeman K, DesRoches CE, Sokolowski MB, Gibson G
2010, Genetics, 185, 1009-19, 20385784
Job switching in ants: Role of a kinase
Lucas C, Hughson BN, Sokolowski MB
2010, Communicative & integrative biology, 3, 6-8, 20539773
2009
The Drosophila foraging gene mediates adult plasticity and gene-environment interactions in behaviour, metabolites, and gene expression in response to food deprivation
Kent CF, Daskalchuk T, Cook L, Sokolowski MB, Greenspan RJ
2009, PLoS genetics, 5, e1000609, 19696884
Molecular basis for changes in behavioral state in ant social behaviors
Lucas C, Sokolowski MB
2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, 6351-6, 19332792
Evolution: how fruit flies adapt to seasonal stresses
Williams KD, Sokolowski MB
2009, Current biology : CB, 19, R63-4, 19174139
cGMP-dependent protein kinase: linking foraging to energy homeostasis
Kaun KR, Sokolowski MB
2009, Genome / National Research Council Canada = Génome / Conseil national de recherches Canada, 52, 1-7, 19132066
cGMP-dependent protein kinase as a modifier of behaviour
Reaume CJ, Sokolowski MB
2009, Handbook of experimental pharmacology, 423-43, 19089339
2008
Natural variation in plasticity of glucose homeostasis and food intake
Kaun KR, Chakaborty-Chatterjee M, Sokolowski MB
2008, The Journal of experimental biology, 211, 3160-6, 18805815
Behavioural genetics: worms seek that old beetle smell
Sokolowski MB, Fitzpatrick MJ
2008, Current biology : CB, 18, R480-2, 18522822
2007
Natural variation in food acquisition mediated via a Drosophila cGMP-dependent protein kinase
Kaun KR, Riedl CA, Chakaborty-Chatterjee M, Belay AT, Douglas SJ, Gibbs AG, Sokolowski MB
2007, The Journal of experimental biology, 210, 3547-58, 17921156
Natural variation in the thermotolerance of neural function and behavior due to a cGMP-dependent protein kinase
Dawson-Scully K, Armstrong GA, Kent C, Robertson RM, Sokolowski MB
2007, PloS one, 2, e773, 17712421
Natural polymorphism affecting learning and memory in Drosophila
Mery F, Belay AT, So AK, Sokolowski MB, Kawecki TJ
2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104, 13051-5, 17640898
Maintaining a behaviour polymorphism by frequency-dependent selection on a single gene
Fitzpatrick MJ, Feder E, Rowe L, Sokolowski MB
2007, Nature, 447, 210-2, 17495926
Natural variation in Drosophila larval reward learning and memory due to a cGMP-dependent protein kinase
Kaun KR, Hendel T, Gerber B, Sokolowski MB
2007, Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 14, 342-9, 17522025
Genetic and behavioral analysis of natural variation in Drosophila melanogaster pupation position
Riedl CA, Riedl M, Mackay TF, Sokolowski MB
2007, Fly, 1, 23-32, 18690058
2006
Natural variation in Drosophila melanogaster diapause due to the insulin-regulated PI3-kinase
Williams KD, Busto M, Suster ML, So AK, Ben-Shahar Y, Leevers SJ, Sokolowski MB
2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103, 15911-5, 17043223
2005
The neurogenetics and evolution of food-related behaviour
Douglas SJ, Dawson-Scully K, Sokolowski MB
2005, Trends in neurosciences, 28, 644-52, 16203044
Drosophila soluble guanylyl cyclase mutants exhibit increased foraging locomotion: behavioral and genomic investigations
Riedl CA, Neal SJ, Robichon A, Westwood JT, Sokolowski MB
2005, Behavior genetics, 35, 231-44, 15864439
The carrot, not the stick: appetitive rather than aversive gustatory stimuli support associative olfactory learning in individually assayed Drosophila larvae
Hendel T, Michels B, Neuser K, Schipanski A, Kaun K, Sokolowski MB, Marohn F, Michel R, Heisenberg M, Gerber B
2005, Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, 191, 265-79, 15657743
2004
Candidate genes for behavioural ecology
Fitzpatrick MJ, Ben-Shahar Y, Smid HM, Vet LE, Robinson GE, Sokolowski MB
2005, Trends in ecology & evolution, 20, 96-104, 16701349
Behavioral genetics: guanylyl cyclase prompts worms to party
Riedl CA, Sokolowski MB
2004, Current biology : CB, 14, R657-8, 15324682
Refining GAL4-driven transgene expression in Drosophila with a GAL80 enhancer-trap
Suster ML, Seugnet L, Bate M, Sokolowski MB
2004, Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000), 39, 240-5, 15286996
Activity of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) affects sucrose responsiveness and habituation in Drosophila melanogaster
Scheiner R, Sokolowski MB, Erber J
2004, Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 11, 303-11, 15169860
In Search of Food: Exploring the Evolutionary Link Between cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase (PKG) and Behaviour
Fitzpatrick MJ, Sokolowski MB
2004, Integrative and comparative biology, 44, 28-36, 21680483