title: A Neural Basis for Control of Cichlid Female Reproductive Behavior by Prostaglandin F2α.
abstract: In most species, females time reproduction to coincide with fertility. Thus, identifying factors that signal fertility to the brain can provide access to neural circuits that control sexual behaviors. In vertebrates, levels of key signaling molecules rise at the time of fertility to prime the brain for reproductive behavior [1-11], but how and where they regulate neural circuits is not known [12, 13]. Specifically, 17α,20β-dihydroxyprogesterone (DHP) and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) levels rise in teleost fish around the time of ovulation [10, 14, 15]. In an African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, fertile females select a mate and perform a stereotyped spawning routine, offering quantifiable behavioral outputs of neural circuits. We show that, within minutes, PGF2α injection activates a naturalistic pattern of sexual behavior in female A. burtoni. We also identify cells in the brain that transduce the prostaglandin signal to mate and show that the gonadal steroid DHP modulates mRNA levels of the putative receptor for PGF2α (Ptgfr). We use CRISPR/Cas9 to generate the first targeted gene mutation in A. burtoni and show that Ptgfr is necessary for the initiation of sexual behavior, uncoupling sexual behavior from reproductive status. Our findings are consistent with a model in which PGF2α communicates fertility status via Ptgfr to circuits in the brain that drive female sexual behavior. Our targeted genome modification in a cichlid fish shows that dissection of gene function can reveal basic control mechanisms for behaviors in this large family of species with diverse and fascinating social systems [16, 17].
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address: sjuntti@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Juntti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Austin T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Hilliard
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Kai R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Anusha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Mariana A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmine L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Loveland
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Sleep Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mourrain
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Russell D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Fernald
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023681:Cichlids / Q000502:physiology*; D015237:Dinoprost / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D011982:Receptors, Prostaglandin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D029941:Fish Proteins; D011982:Receptors, Prostaglandin; D015237:Dinoprost