In addition, it is particularly interesting to note that our candidate genes revealed by the nucRNA-seq analysis such as Lamp5, Dkkl1, Chd3 and Dlk1 are shown to confer vulnerability to anxiety- and depression-related behaviours in males under extreme conditions, such as genetic deletion or overexpression, chronic stress exposure, or selective breeding43,44,46,48. This evidence concerns the gene DLK1 and depressive symptom measurement.