Project description:Zebrafish populations recently collected from the wild differ from domesticated populations in anxiety-related behaviors. We measured anxiety-related behaviors in wild and domesticated zebrafish populations and performed a multi-brain region transcriptional comparison using microarrays to try to understand the genetic changes that accompany behavioral adaptation to domestication. We performed a microarray analysis comparing the midbrain and telencephalon brain regions of male and female adult zebrafish from four populations varying in domestication history (Wild: Nadia (N) and Pargana (P), and Domesticated: Scientific Hatchery (S) and Transgenic Mosaic 1 (T)). We collected 16 samples per brain region (4 samples per zebrafish population, with 1 telencephalon sample missing for the S population). We attempted to maintain equal sex ratios within each zebrafish population, but this was not always possible due to sex biases within some populations.
Project description:We tested the hypothesis that the behavioral response to selenium (Se) follows a hormetic dose response pattern, manifested through the functions of selenoproteins within the brain. We measured anxiety-related behaviors in zebrafish (Danio rerio) at deficient, control and supplemented levels of dietary Se, and measured the transcriptional response of selenoprotein genes important for neuroprotection. We also used a microarray approach to assess the transcriptomic response of the midbrain to Se. The behavioral response to Se was characterized by hormesis, and the direction, magnitude, and shape of the hormetic responses were dependent on both sex and zebrafish population. Transcription of selenoproteins within the midbrain also responded to Se in a similar hormetic dose-dependent manner, with sex and population influencing the trajectory of the responses. The hormetic behavioral response to Se may therefore be manifested through selenoproteins in the brain, but the influence is not direct. We performed a microarray analysis comparing the midbrain-specific transcriptome between male zebrafish from two populations (Pargana: P and Transgenic Mosaic 1: T) fed either a control, Se deficient, or Se supplemented diet (17 total samples: 9 fish per population, 3 fish per diet: missing 1 P control sample).
Project description:Domesticated animal populations often show profound reductions in predator avoidance and fear-related behavior compared to wild populations. These reductions are remarkably consistent and have been observed in a diverse array of taxa including fish, birds, and mammals. Experiments conducted in common environments indicate that these behavioral differences have a genetic basis. In this study, we quantified differences in fear-related behavior between wild and domesticated zebrafish strains and used microarray analysis to identify genes that may be associated with this variation. Compared to wild zebrafish, domesticated zebrafish spent more time near the water surface and were more likely to occupy the front of the aquarium nearest a human observer. Microarray analysis of the brain transcriptome identified high levels of population variation in gene expression, with 1,749 genes significantly differentially expressed among populations. Genes that varied among populations belonged to functional categories that included DNA repair, DNA photolyase activity, response to light stimulus, neuron development and axon guidance, cell death, iron-binding, chromatin reorganization, and homeobox genes. Comparatively fewer genes (112) differed between domesticated and wild strains with notable genes including gpr177 (wntless), selenoprotein P1a, synaptophysin and synaptoporin, and acyl-CoA binding domain containing proteins (acbd3 and acbd4). Microarray analysis identified a large number of genes that differed among zebrafish populations and may underlie behavioral domestication. Comparisons with similar microarray studies of domestication in rainbow trout and canids identified sixteen evolutionarily or functionally related genes that may represent components of shared molecular mechanisms underlying convergent behavioral evolution during vertebrate domestication. However, this conclusion must be tempered by limitations associated with comparisons among microarray studies and the low level of population-level replication inherent to these studies. RNA was extracted from the brains of fish from four behaviorally distinct strains of zebrafish and hybridized on Affymetrix microarrays. Brains from 2-5 individual fish of the same sex were pooled and homogenized together, for a total of two biological replicate pools per sex per strain (16 microarrays total).
Project description:We tested the hypothesis that the behavioral response to selenium (Se) follows a hormetic dose response pattern, manifested through the functions of selenoproteins within the brain. We measured anxiety-related behaviors in zebrafish (Danio rerio) at deficient, control and supplemented levels of dietary Se, and measured the transcriptional response of selenoprotein genes important for neuroprotection. We also used a microarray approach to assess the transcriptomic response of the midbrain to Se. The behavioral response to Se was characterized by hormesis, and the direction, magnitude, and shape of the hormetic responses were dependent on both sex and zebrafish population. Transcription of selenoproteins within the midbrain also responded to Se in a similar hormetic dose-dependent manner, with sex and population influencing the trajectory of the responses. The hormetic behavioral response to Se may therefore be manifested through selenoproteins in the brain, but the influence is not direct.
Project description:Domesticated animal populations often show profound reductions in predator avoidance and fear-related behavior compared to wild populations. These reductions are remarkably consistent and have been observed in a diverse array of taxa including fish, birds, and mammals. Experiments conducted in common environments indicate that these behavioral differences have a genetic basis. In this study, we quantified differences in fear-related behavior between wild and domesticated zebrafish strains and used microarray analysis to identify genes that may be associated with this variation. Compared to wild zebrafish, domesticated zebrafish spent more time near the water surface and were more likely to occupy the front of the aquarium nearest a human observer. Microarray analysis of the brain transcriptome identified high levels of population variation in gene expression, with 1,749 genes significantly differentially expressed among populations. Genes that varied among populations belonged to functional categories that included DNA repair, DNA photolyase activity, response to light stimulus, neuron development and axon guidance, cell death, iron-binding, chromatin reorganization, and homeobox genes. Comparatively fewer genes (112) differed between domesticated and wild strains with notable genes including gpr177 (wntless), selenoprotein P1a, synaptophysin and synaptoporin, and acyl-CoA binding domain containing proteins (acbd3 and acbd4). Microarray analysis identified a large number of genes that differed among zebrafish populations and may underlie behavioral domestication. Comparisons with similar microarray studies of domestication in rainbow trout and canids identified sixteen evolutionarily or functionally related genes that may represent components of shared molecular mechanisms underlying convergent behavioral evolution during vertebrate domestication. However, this conclusion must be tempered by limitations associated with comparisons among microarray studies and the low level of population-level replication inherent to these studies.
Project description:Ambient temperature affects organisms comprehensively, however cold responses are different among tissues. Here, we adopt a transcript screening approach to explore and compare the cold responses in zebrafish gills and brain. Zebrafish were exposed to cold and the oligonucleotide-based microarray was used to identify cold-induced genes. Principle component analysis (PCA) of the gene expression profiles indicated that gills develop different strategies for the increasing of exposure period while brain relatively remained stable. Combining statistic and clustering methods, we found that gills showed higher protein metabolism and cell activity while brain showed higher stress responses and detoxification during cold acclimation. According to the microarray data sets, we extended the study on ionocyte- and isotocin neuron-related genes in gills and brain, respectively, and found these genes were broadly stimulated by cold. These data suggest that cold activates specific physiological functions in different tissues. Taken together, our results provide molecular evidences to elucidate the cold acclimation in zebrafish gills and brain. Keywords: Time course, Tissue types