Dissecting sex hormone effects on genes, neurons, and behavior using cichlid fish

容蒂|项目摘要 我的研究计划的首要目标是了解激素如何塑造神经系统， 控制社会行为的途径。性腺激素是发育的关键调节因子 和成年神经功能，它们的信号传导导致脊椎动物 生殖和攻击性行为。不同年龄组的激素信号差异 男性和女性可能导致神经精神疾病发病率的差异， 但其作用的神经元和转录基础尚不清楚。这些激素可能 确定细胞的连通性、它们的活动模式或两者。生殖行为 慈鲷鱼是了解激素如何影响基因转录的理想模型系统 和神经回路功能。慈鲷的社会行为已经研究了近世纪， 是复杂的，但定型和量化。数十种慈鲷科鱼类的基因序列 我们已经率先在这些物种中进行了CRISPR基因编辑和转基因。我们 已经鉴定出一群对激素类前列腺素和前列腺素敏感的神经元 F2α（PGF）是产卵行为所必需的。孕激素受体（PR）信号转导调节 这些细胞中的基因表达，而PGF及其受体Ptgfr是足够和必要的， 开始产卵我们试图确定Ptgfr+细胞对各种社会性疾病的贡献。 通过基因控制这些细胞的行为。执行情况 QF-QUAS系统首次在慈鲷科将允许这些和其他细胞的研究。像 与其他类固醇激素受体一样，PR充当配体激活的转录因子。但其 目前尚不清楚大脑中的基因组靶点，因此尚不清楚它如何调节行为。我们将 确定PR如何调节慈鲷的行为程序，并确定PR的基因组靶点 这是它行动的基础。β-胡萝卜素（和其他类固醇）的产生受 下丘脑垂体性腺轴感觉输入调节了在哺乳动物中的睾丸素的产生， 慈鲷：雄性气味促进其合成。我们将确定介导这一过程的细胞群 从嗅觉到内分泌系统的信号。这些方法将建立在我们以前的 研究结果并利用我们开发的技术，共同深入了解如何 脊椎动物的大脑调节性激素并对其作出反应。这些实验将为 为理解激素协调的基因网络和描绘 调节社会行为的神经元。

Juntti | Project Summary The overarching goal of my research program is to understand how hormones shape the neural pathways that control social behavior. Gonadal hormones are key regulators of development and adult neural function, and their signaling leads to profound differences in vertebrate animal reproductive and aggressive behaviors across sexes. Differences in hormone signaling across men and women could contribute to discrepancies in incidence of neuropsychiatric conditions, but the neuronal and transcriptional basis for their actions are not clear. These hormones may determine the connectivity of cells, their activity patterns, or both. Reproductive behaviors in cichlid fish are an ideal model system to understand how hormones impact gene transcription and neural circuit function. Cichlid social behaviors have been studied for nearly a century, and are complex yet stereotyped and quantifiable. Dozens of cichlid species have sequenced genomes, and we have pioneered CRISPR gene editing and transgenesis in these species. We have identified a population of neurons sensitive to the hormones progestin and prostaglandin F2α (PGF) that is essential for spawning behavior. Progestin receptor (PR) signaling regulates gene expression in these cells, while PGF and its receptor, Ptgfr, are sufficient and necessary to initiate spawning. We seek to determine the contribution of Ptgfr+ cells to a variety of social behaviors through genetically directed manipulation of these cells. The implementation of the QF-QUAS system for the first time in cichlids will permit studies of these and other cells. Like other steroid hormone receptors, PR acts as a ligand-activated transcription factor. However, its genomic targets are not known in brain, and so it is not clear how it regulates behavior. We will identify how PR regulates cichlid behavior routines and determine the genomic targets of PR that underlie its actions. The production of progestin (and other steroids) is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Sensory inputs regulate the production of progestin in cichlids: male odorants promote its synthesis. We will identify cell groups that mediate this signaling from olfaction to the endocrine system. These approaches will build upon our previous findings and leverage technologies that we have developed, together yielding insights into how the vertebrate brain regulates and responds to sex hormones. These experiments will lay a foundation for understanding the gene networks coordinated by hormones and delineating the neurons that regulate social behaviors.