Decoding Molecular Bases of Rodent Social Hetero-Grooming Behavior Using in Silico Analyses and Bioinformatics Tools

•Rodent grooming is an important key behavior.•The study analyzed mouse genes linked to aberrant hetero-grooming behavior.•The genes formed a molecular network with several gene clusters.•They can help clarify mechanisms of rodent grooming behavior. Highly prevalent in laboratory rodents, ‘social’ hetero-grooming behavior is translationally relevant to modeling a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we comprehensively evaluated all known to date mouse genes linked to aberrant hetero-grooming phenotype, and applied bioinformatics tools to construct a network of their established protein–protein interactions (PPI). We next identified several distinct molecular clusters within this complex network, including neuronal differentiation, cytoskeletal, WNT-signaling and synapsins-associated pathways. Using additional bioinformatics analyses, we further identified ‘central’ (hub) proteins within these molecular clusters, likely key for mouse hetero-grooming behavior. Overall, a more comprehensive characterization of intricate molecular pathways linked to aberrant rodent grooming may markedly advance our understanding of underlying cellular mechanisms and related neurological disorders, eventually helping discover novel targets for their pharmacological or gene therapy interventions.