Neuropeptide B mediates female sexual receptivity in medaka fish, acting in a female-specific but reversible manner

Abstract

Male and female animals display innate sex-specific mating behaviors. In teleost fish, altering the adult sex steroid milieu can effectively reverse sex-typical mating behaviors, suggesting remarkable sexual lability of their brains as adults. In the teleost medaka, neuropeptide B (NPB) is expressed female-specifically in the brain nuclei implicated in mating behavior. Here, we demonstrate that NPB is a direct mediator of estrogen action on female mating behavior, acting in a female-specific but reversible manner. Analysis of regulatory mechanisms revealed that the female-specific expression of NPB is dependent on direct transcriptional activation by estrogen via an estrogen-responsive element and is reversed in response to changes in the adult sex steroid milieu. Behavioral studies of NPB knockouts revealed that female-specific NBP mediates female receptivity to male courtship. The female-specific NPB signaling identified herein is presumably a critical element of the neural circuitry underlying sexual dimorphism and lability of mating behaviors in teleosts.

Glial granules contain germline proteins in the Drosophila brain, which regulate brain transcriptome

“…In particular, contrary to males, mutant females showed highly significant upregulation of Neuropeptide-like precursor 4 (nplp4) and target of brain insulin (tobi) genes (p = 5 × 10 −5 ). Neuropeptides and insulin signaling have been implicated in multiple aspects of sex-specific behavior and physiology including mating and reproduction 23,24 , and, as our data indicate, brain-expressed Tud may partially contribute to these processes in Drosophila. Interestingly, a recent study also showed the upregulation of tobi in the fly heads in response to the accumulation of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) in the Alzheimer's disease Drosophila model 25 .…”

Rapid host response to an infection with Coronavirus. Study of transcriptional responses with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus

“…Moreover, recent studies have revealed that expression of NPB by, yet, not identified types of neurons in the Japanese rice fish (Medaka) is female-specific, i.e. is mediated only by binding of ovarian sex hormones (estrogens) to receptors of the androgen/estrogen signaling cascade (52: Hiraki-Kajiyama et al 2019).…”

Male-predominant galanin mediates androgen-dependent aggressive chases in medaka

“…The mating behavior test was performed essentially as described elsewhere ( Hiraki-Kajiyama et al, 2019 ). In brief, on the day before behavioral testing, each focal male and female (from Δ2 and Δ10 knockout lines) was placed with a stimulus fish of the opposite sex (wild-type d-rR strain) in a 2-l rectangular tank, separated by a perforated transparent partition.…”

“…A rabbit anti-GAL antibody that recognizes teleost Gal with high specificity ( Rodríguez et al, 2003 ; Amano et al, 2009 ) was obtained from Enzo Life Sciences (Farmingdale, NY; RRID: AB_2051473 ). The specificity of this antibody was confirmed in medaka brain by a double-labeling experiment using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, essentially as described elsewhere ( Hiraki-Kajiyama et al, 2019 ) with slight modifications. In brief, frozen coronal brain sections of 20 μm thickness were cut as described above and hybridized with the above-mentioned gal probe, which was labeled with fluorescein by using Fluorescein RNA Labeling Mix and T7 RNA polymerase (Roche Diagnostics).…”

“…In recent years, the teleost fish medaka ( Oryzias latipes ) has emerged as an effective model organism for studying social behaviors ( Okuyama et al, 2014 ; Hiraki-Kajiyama et al, 2019 ; Yokoi et al, 2020 ). In medaka, females spawn once daily over the spawning period, whereas males can spawn multiple times a day ( Weir and Grant, 2010 ).…”