PUBLICATION

Modulation of Fgfr1a Signaling in Zebrafish Reveals a Genetic Basis for the Aggression-Boldness Syndrome

Authors
Norton, W.H., Stumpenhorst, K., Faus-Kessler, T., Folchert, A., Rohner, N., Harris, M.P., Callebert, J., and Bally-Cuif, L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-111013-15
Date
2011
Source
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience   31(39): 13796-13807 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Bally-Cuif, Laure, Folchert, Anja, Harris, Matthew, Norton, Will, Rohner, Nicolas
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Aggression/physiology*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Female
  • Male
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Motor Activity/genetics
  • Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1/genetics*
  • Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1/metabolism*
  • Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1/physiology
  • Signal Transduction/genetics*
  • Syndrome
  • Zebrafish
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/physiology
PubMed
21957242 Full text @ J. Neurosci.
Abstract
Behavioral syndromes are suites of two or more behaviors that correlate across environmental contexts. The aggression–boldness syndrome links aggression, boldness, and exploratory activity in a novel environment. Although aggression–boldness has been described in many animals, the mechanism linking its behavioral components is not known. Here we show that mutation of the gene encoding fibroblast growth factor receptor 1a (fgfr1a) simultaneously increases aggression, boldness, and exploration in adult zebrafish. We demonstrate that altered Fgf signaling also results in reduced brain histamine levels in mutants. Pharmacological increase of histamine signaling is sufficient to rescue the behavioral phenotype of fgfr1a mutants. Together, we show that a single genetic locus can underlie the aggression–boldness behavioral syndrome. We also identify one of the neurotransmitter pathways that may mediate clustering of these behaviors.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping