Response to geographic variation in song is associated with differential gene expression in the blood of a songbird
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Melospiza melodia
PROVIDER: GSE330656 | GEO | 2026/05/25
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Birdsong is powerful model for the neural mechanisms underlying motor skill learning. The success of this model is in part due to the experimental advantages of the song system, the anatomically and functionally discrete neural circuit dedicated to song. Despite a detailed understanding of the physiological and systems levels properties of this circuit, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of what cell types are present in each region of the song system and how these cell types compare to those found in the brains of other vertebrates. Here, we characterize the cellular repertoire of the song motor pathway using single-cell RNA-sequencing.
2020-05-14 | GSE150486 | GEO
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of courtship song stimulated females in Drosophila melanogaster comparing females exposed to conspecific song to those exposed to either white-noise (control) or heterospecific song (D. simulans) Three condition experiment, D. melanogaster (mel_song) song stimulated vs. Control (no_song) and vs. D. simulans (sim_song) stimulated females. Biological replicates: 7 for D_mel_song, 4 for no_song, 3 for D_sim_song. One replicate per array. Each sample contains 120 pooled female heads, collected from three independent experiments. Technical replication: two arrays with reverse labeling for each contrast.
2011-11-22 | E-GEOD-31190 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of courtship song stimulated females in Drosophila melanogaster comparing females exposed to conspecific song to those exposed to either white-noise (control) or heterospecific song (D. simulans)
2011-11-22 | GSE31190 | GEO
Project description:Male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) are territorial year-round; however, neuroendocrine responses to simulated territorial intrusion (STI) differ between breeding (spring) and non-breeding seasons (autumn). In spring, exposure to STI leads to increases in luteinizing hormone and testosterone, but not in autumn. These observations suggest that there are fundamental differences in the mechanisms driving neuroendocrine responses to STI between seasons. Microarrays, spotted with EST cDNA clones of zebra finch, were used to explore gene expression profiles in the hypothalamus after territorial aggression in two different seasons. Free-living territorial male song sparrows were exposed to either conspecific or heterospecific (control) males in an STI in spring and autumn. Behavioral data were recorded, whole hypothalami were collected, and microarray hybridizations were performed. Quantitative PCR was performed for validation. Our results show 262 cDNAs were differentially expressed between spring and autumn in the control birds. There were 173 cDNAs significantly affected by STI in autumn; however, only 67 were significantly affected by STI in spring. There were 88 cDNAs that showed significant interactions in both season and STI. Results suggest that STI drives differential genomic responses in the hypothalamus in the spring vs. autumn. The number of cDNAs differentially expressed in relation to season was greater than in relation to social interactions, suggesting major underlying seasonal effects in the hypothalamus which may determine the differential response upon social interaction. Functional pathway analyses implicated genes that regulate thyroid hormone action and neuroplasticity as targets of this neuroendocrine regulation.
2009-12-16 | GSE18970 | GEO
Project description:Male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) are territorial year-round; however, neuroendocrine responses to simulated territorial intrusion (STI) differ between breeding (spring) and non-breeding seasons (autumn). In spring, exposure to STI leads to increases in luteinizing hormone and testosterone, but not in autumn. These observations suggest that there are fundamental differences in the mechanisms driving neuroendocrine responses to STI between seasons. Microarrays, spotted with EST cDNA clones of zebra finch, were used to explore gene expression profiles in the hypothalamus after territorial aggression in two different seasons. Free-living territorial male song sparrows were exposed to either conspecific or heterospecific (control) males in an STI in spring and autumn. Behavioral data were recorded, whole hypothalami were collected, and microarray hybridizations were performed. Quantitative PCR was performed for validation. Our results show 262 cDNAs were differentially expressed between spring and autumn in the control birds. There were 173 cDNAs significantly affected by STI in autumn; however, only 67 were significantly affected by STI in spring. There were 88 cDNAs that showed significant interactions in both season and STI. Results suggest that STI drives differential genomic responses in the hypothalamus in the spring vs. autumn. The number of cDNAs differentially expressed in relation to season was greater than in relation to social interactions, suggesting major underlying seasonal effects in the hypothalamus which may determine the differential response upon social interaction. Functional pathway analyses implicated genes that regulate thyroid hormone action and neuroplasticity as targets of this neuroendocrine regulation. For condition experiment, SC (spring control), AC (autumn control), SE (spring STI), AE (autumn STI) Biological replicates: 7 in SC, 8 in AC, SE, AE. One Melospiza melodia subject and one universal SoNG reference (pooled Taeniopygia guttata brain) per array.
2010-05-18 | E-GEOD-18970 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:A defining feature of our species is the ability to manipulate our environment through the fine control of our hands and to communicate with others through the rapid and complex motor orchestration of human speech. The courtship song of songbirds shares a number of neural and behavioral similarities with human speech and other learned motor skills, providing a powerful model for understanding how enhanced motor skills develop at molecular and cellular levels. Birdsong is controlled by a specialized neural circuit whose properties enable high precision and speed. In particular, glutamatergic neurons in the birdsong motor region RA (Glut-RA) have higher spike rates and narrower action potentials than projection neurons in an adjacent motor region that does not control song, the dorsal intermediate arcopallium (Glut-AId). To identify candidate gene regulatory networks that establish the specialized properties of Glut-RA neurons, we performed single-nucleus profiling of gene expression and chromatin accessibility across song and non-song motor regions. We found that Glut-RA projection neurons and fast spiking interneurons (FSIs), a GABAergic type also characterized by high spike rates and narrow action potentials, share several transcriptional similarities. In particular, the transcription factor MAFB, which is essential for the development and fast-spiking physiology of FSIs in mice, is expressed in Glut-RA but no other projection neuron type. We found that MAFB transcription factor binding sites have enhanced chromatin accessibility specifically in glutamatergic neurons in RA relative to AId. Furthermore, gene regulatory network inference and in silico knockdown of MAFB expression reveal common MAFB targets in Glut-RA neurons and FSIs, and suggest that the transcription factor is necessary to specialize song Glut-RA neurons from non-song Glut-AId neurons. These data support a model in which birdsong projection neurons co-opt an interneuron gene regulatory program to enable the rapid physiological properties required for fast and precise birdsong performance.
2026-03-02 | GSE316539 | GEO
Project description:A defining feature of our species is the ability to manipulate our environment through the fine control of our hands and to communicate with others through the rapid and complex motor orchestration of human speech. The courtship song of songbirds shares a number of neural and behavioral similarities with human speech and other learned motor skills, providing a powerful model for understanding how enhanced motor skills develop at molecular and cellular levels. Birdsong is controlled by a specialized neural circuit whose properties enable high precision and speed. In particular, glutamatergic neurons in the birdsong motor region RA (Glut-RA) have higher spike rates and narrower action potentials than projection neurons in an adjacent motor region that does not control song, the dorsal intermediate arcopallium (Glut-AId). To identify candidate gene regulatory networks that establish the specialized properties of Glut-RA neurons, we performed single-nucleus profiling of gene expression and chromatin accessibility across song and non-song motor regions. We found that Glut-RA projection neurons and fast spiking interneurons (FSIs), a GABAergic type also characterized by high spike rates and narrow action potentials, share several transcriptional similarities. In particular, the transcription factor MAFB, which is essential for the development and fast-spiking physiology of FSIs in mice, is expressed in Glut-RA but no other projection neuron type. We found that MAFB transcription factor binding sites have enhanced chromatin accessibility specifically in glutamatergic neurons in RA relative to AId. Furthermore, gene regulatory network inference and in silico knockdown of MAFB expression reveal common MAFB targets in Glut-RA neurons and FSIs, and suggest that the transcription factor is necessary to specialize song Glut-RA neurons from non-song Glut-AId neurons. These data support a model in which birdsong projection neurons co-opt an interneuron gene regulatory program to enable the rapid physiological properties required for fast and precise birdsong performance.
2026-03-02 | GSE316538 | GEO
Project description:Background: Vocal learning is a rare and complex behavioral trait that serves as a basis for the acquisition of human spoken language. In songbirds, vocal learning and production depend on a set of specialized brain nuclei known as the song system. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using high-throughput functional genomics we have identified, 200 novel molecular markers of adult zebra finch HVC Vocal, a key node of the song system. These markers clearly differentiate HVC from the general pallial region to which HVC belongs, and thus represent molecular specializations of this song nucleus. Bioinformatics analysis reveals that several major neuronal cell functions and specific biochemical pathways are the targets of transcriptional regulation in HVC, including: 1) cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions (e.g., cadherin/catenin-mediated adherens junctions, collagen-mediated focal adhesions, and semaphorin-neuropilin/plexin axon guidance pathways); 2) cell excitability (e.g., potassium channel subfamilies, cholinergic and serotonergic receptors, neuropeptides and neuropeptide receptors); 3) signal transduction (e.g., calcium regulatory proteins, regulators of G-protein-related signaling); 4) cell proliferation/death, migration and differentiation (e.g., TGF-beta/BMP and p53 pathways); and 5) regulation of gene expression (candidate retinoid and steroid targets, modulators of chromatin/nucleolar organization). The overall direction of regulation suggest that processes related to cell stability are enhanced, whereas proliferation, growth and plasticity are largely suppressed in adult HVC, consistent with the observation that song in this songbird species is mostly stable in adulthood. Conclusions/Significance: Our study represents one of the most comprehensive molecular genetic characterizations of a brain nucleus involved in a complex learned behavior in a vertebrate. The data indicate numerous targets for pharmacological and genetic manipulations of the song system, and provide novel insights into mechanisms that might play a role in the regulation of song behavior and/or vocal learning.
2012-03-15 | GSE36270 | GEO
Project description:Photoperiod and hormonal cues drive dramatic seasonal changes in structure and function of the avian song control system. Little is known, however, about the patterns of gene expression associated with seasonal changes. Here we address this issue by exposing Gambel’s white-crowned sparrows to season-appropriate cues and extracting RNA from the telencephalic song control nuclei HVC and RA across multiple time points that capture different stages of growth and regression. We chose HVC and RA because while both nuclei change in volume across seasons, the cellular mechanisms underlying these changes differ. We thus hypothesized that different genes would be expressed between HVC and RA. We tested this by using the extracted RNA to perform a cDNA microarray hybridization developed by the SoNG initiative. We then validated these results using qRT-PCR. Supporting our hypothesis, only 59 of the 363 genes of interest were found to vary by more than |1.5| fold in expression in both nuclei, while 132 gene expression changes were HVC specific and 172 genes were RA specific. We then assigned many of these genes to functional categories relevant to the different mechanisms underlying seasonal change in HVC and RA, including neurogenesis, apoptosis, cell growth, dendrite arborization and axonal growth, angiogenesis, endocrinology, growth factors, and electrophysiology. This revealed categorical differences in the kinds of genes regulated in HVC and RA. These results show that different molecular programs underlie seasonal changes in HVC and RA, and that gene expression is time specific across different reproductive conditions. Our results provide insights into the complex molecular pathways that underlie adult neural plasticity.
2012-10-01 | GSE28347 | GEO
Project description:How evolutionary changes in genes and neurons encode species variation in complex motor behaviors are largely unknown. Here, we develop genetic tools that permit a neural circuit comparison between the model species Drosophila melanogaster and the closely-related species D. yakuba, who has undergone a lineage-specific loss of sine song, one of the two major types of male courtship song in Drosophila. Neuroanatomical comparison of song patterning neurons called TN1 across the phylogeny demonstrates a link between the loss of sine song and a reduction both in the number of TN1 neurons and the neurites serving the sine circuit connectivity. Optogenetic activation confirms that TN1 neurons in D. yakuba have lost the ability to drive sine song, while maintaining the ability to drive the singing wing posture. Single-cell transcriptomic comparison shows that D. yakuba specifically lacks a cell type corresponding to TN1A neurons, the TN1 subtype that is essential for sine song. Genetic and developmental manipulation reveals a functional divergence of the sex determination gene doublesex in D. yakuba to reduce TN1 number by promoting apoptosis. Our work illustrates the contribution of motor patterning circuits and cell type changes in behavioral evolution, and uncovers the evolutionary lability of sex determination genes to reconfigure the cellular makeup of neural circuits.
2024-04-03 | GSE262732 | GEO