Ask not (only) what proteomics can do for behavior, but (also) what behavior can do for proteomes: a comment on Valcu and Kempenaers

Valcu and Kempenaers’ (2015) paper on the use of proteomics in behavioral ecology is a tour de force detailing everything from how different proteomics methods work and how to choose among them, to the ever-increasing use of proteomics to answer and/ or generate questions in behavioral ecology, to a roadmap for future intersections between proteomics and behavioral ecology. Their insights should be of great value to researchers interested in this area of study. In addition to the view that proteomics can contribute to the study of behavior, the study of behavior will contribute to our understanding of proteomes, and how those are modulated with condition and time. In this commentary, I illustrate this view with examples from studies of seminal fluid proteins (SFPs). SFPs are transferred by males to females during mating and, in some species, can influence female behavior and physiology in ways that affect the reproductive success of both partners. Several studies have recently used proteomics to determine which proteins are transferred from males to females in the seminal fluid or as part of the sperm (e.g., Findlay et al. 2008). Studies of specific proteins have revealed how these proteins affect fertilization success and female postmating responses (e.g., Rogers et al. 2009). These studies have also uncovered situations in which behavior can shape the proteome.