GnRH-mediated olfactory and visual inputs promote mating-like behaviors in male zebrafish.
The engagement of sexual behaviors is regulated by a number of factors which include gene expression, hormone circulation, and multi-sensory information integration. In zebrafish, when a male and a female are placed in the same container, they show mating-like behaviors regardless of whether they are kept together or separated by a net. No mating-like behaviors are observed when same-sex animals are put together. Through the olfacto-visual centrifugal pathway, activation of the terminalis nerve in the olfactory bulb increases GnRH signaling in the brain and triggers mating-like behaviors between males. In zebrafish mutants or wild-type fish in which the olfacto-visual centrifugal pathway is impaired or chemically ablated, in response to odor stimulation the mating-like behaviors between males are no longer evident. Together, the data suggest that the combination of olfactory and visual signals alter male zebrafish's mating-like behaviors via GnRH signaling.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States of America.
Lei
L
Li
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States of America.
Jennifer L
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7799-8994
JL
Wojtowicz
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States of America.
John H
JH
Malin
Center for Reproductive Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan,China.
Tao
T
Huang
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States of America.
Eric B
EB
Lee
Center for Reproductive Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan,China.
Zijiang
Z
Chen
D000818:Animals; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000378:metabolism*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*
D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone