title: Site-specific retinoic acid production in the brain of adult songbirds.
abstract: The song system of songbirds, a set of brain nuclei necessary for song learning and production, has distinctive morphological and functional properties. Utilizing differential display, we searched for molecular components involved in song system regulation. We identified a cDNA (zRalDH) that encodes a class 1 aldehyde dehydrogenase. zRalDH was highly expressed in various song nuclei and synthesized retinoic acid efficiently. Brain areas expressing zRalDH generated retinoic acid. Within song nucleus HVC, only projection neurons not undergoing adult neurogenesis expressed zRalDH. Blocking zRalDH activity in the HVC of juveniles interfered with normal song development. Our results provide conclusive evidence for localized retinoic acid synthesis in an adult vertebrate brain and indicate that the retinoic acid-generating system plays a significant role in the maturation of a learned behavior.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA.
authors.forename: N I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Denisenko-Nehrbass
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jarvis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scharff
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nottebohm
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Mello
mesh_terms: D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000080924:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004221:Disulfiram / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004343:Drug Implants; D015870:Gene Expression; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D050697:Retinal Dehydrogenase; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D020308:Songbirds / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004343:Drug Implants; D007527:Isoenzymes; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D014212:Tretinoin; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; D000080924:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family; C413419:zRalDH protein, Taeniopygia guttata; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; D050697:Retinal Dehydrogenase; D004221:Disulfiram