Olfactory-Evoked Activity Assay for Larval Zebrafish

Nucleobase-containing compounds evoke behavioural, olfactory, and transcriptional responses in model fishes

The sensory system of animals detects a massive and unknown array of chemical cues that evoke a diversity of physiological and behavioural responses. One group of nitrogen-containing carbon ring chemicals—nucleobases—are thought to be involved in numerous behaviours yet have received little attention. We took a top-down approach to examine responses evoked by nucleobases at behavioural, tissue, and gene expression levels. Fish generally avoided nucleobases, and this behaviour, when observed, was driven by purines but not pyrimidines. At the tissue level, olfactory neuron generator potential responses tended to be concentration specific and robust at concentrations lower than amino acid detection ranges. In terms of gene expression, more than 2000 genes were significantly upregulated following nucleobase exposure, some of which were expected (e.g., genes involved in purine binding) and some of which were not (e.g., tubulin-related genes). Humanized RNA pathway analysis showed that we had exposed the animal to a nucleobase. Our data indicate that responses to nucleobase-containing compounds may be highly structure based and are evident from changes in behaviour to mRNA expression. Many of these responses were surprising, and all provide numerous routes for further research endeavour.

Prion gene paralogs are dispensable for early zebrafish development and have nonadditive roles in seizure susceptibility

Normally folded prion protein (PrP^C) and its functions in healthy brains remain underappreciated compared with the intense study of its misfolded forms ("prions," PrP^Sc) during the pathobiology of prion diseases. This impedes the development of therapeutic strategies in Alzheimer's and prion diseases. Disrupting the zebrafish homologs of PrP^C has provided novel insights; however, mutagenesis of the zebrafish paralog prp2 did not recapitulate previous dramatic developmental phenotypes, suggesting redundancy with the prp1 paralog. Here, we generated zebrafish prp1 loss-of-function mutant alleles and dual prp1^-/-;prp2^-/- mutants. Zebrafish prp1^-/- and dual prp1^-/-;prp2^-/- mutants resemble mammalian Prnp knockouts insofar as they lack overt phenotypes, which surprisingly contrasts with reports of severe developmental phenotypes when either prp1 or prp2 is knocked down acutely. Previous studies suggest that PrP^C participates in neural cell development/adhesion, including in zebrafish where loss of prp2 affects adhesion and deposition patterns of lateral line neuromasts. In contrast with the expectation that prp1's functions would be redundant to prp2, they appear to have opposing functions in lateral line neurodevelopment. Similarly, loss of prp1 blunted the seizure susceptibility phenotypes observed in prp2 mutants, contrasting the expected exacerbation of phenotypes if these prion gene paralogs were serving redundant roles. In summary, prion mutant fish lack the overt phenotypes previously predicted, and instead they have subtle phenotypes similar to mammals. No evidence was found for functional redundancy in the zebrafish prion gene paralogs, and the phenotypes observed when each gene is disrupted individually are consistent with ancient functions of prion proteins in neurodevelopment and modulation of neural activity.

Towards a comprehensive catalog of zebrafish behavior 1.0 and beyond

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly gaining popularity in translational neuroscience and behavioral research. Physiological similarity to mammals, ease of genetic manipulations, sensitivity to pharmacological and genetic factors, robust behavior, low cost, and potential for high-throughput screening contribute to the growing utility of zebrafish models in this field. Understanding zebrafish behavioral phenotypes provides important insights into neural pathways, physiological biomarkers, and genetic underpinnings of normal and pathological brain function. Novel zebrafish paradigms continue to appear with an encouraging pace, thus necessitating a consistent terminology and improved understanding of the behavioral repertoire. What can zebrafish 'do', and how does their altered brain function translate into behavioral actions? To help address these questions, we have developed a detailed catalog of zebrafish behaviors (Zebrafish Behavior Catalog, ZBC) that covers both larval and adult models. Representing a beginning of creating a more comprehensive ethogram of zebrafish behavior, this effort will improve interpretation of published findings, foster cross-species behavioral modeling, and encourage new groups to apply zebrafish neurobehavioral paradigms in their research. In addition, this glossary creates a framework for developing a zebrafish neurobehavioral ontology, ultimately to become part of a unified animal neurobehavioral ontology, which collectively will contribute to better integration of biological data within and across species.

Targeted mutation of the gene encoding prion protein in zebrafish reveals a conserved role in neuron excitability

The function of the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) in healthy brains remains poorly understood, in part because Prnp knockout mice are viable. On the other hand, transient knockdown of Prnp homologs in zebrafish (including two paralogs, prp1 and prp2) has suggested that PrP(C) is required for CNS development, cell adhesion, and neuroprotection. It has been argued that zebrafish Prp2 is most similar to mammalian PrP(C), yet it has remained intransigent to the most thorough confirmations of reagent specificity during knockdown. Thus we investigated the role of prp2 using targeted gene disruption via zinc finger nucleases. Prp2(-/-) zebrafish were viable and did not display overt developmental phenotypes. Back-crossing female prp2(-/-) fish ruled out a role for maternal mRNA contributions. Prp2(-/-) larvae were found to have increased seizure-like behavior following exposure to the convulsant pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), as compared to wild type fish. In situ recordings from intact hindbrains demonstrated that prp2 regulates closing of N-Methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, concomitant with neuroprotection during glutamate excitotoxicity. Overall, the knockout of Prp2 function in zebrafish independently confirmed hypothesized roles for PrP, identifying deeply conserved functions in post-developmental regulation of neuron excitability that are consequential to the etiology of prion and Alzheimer diseases.