GnRH-mediated olfactory and visual inputs promote mating-like behaviors in male zebrafish

PLoS One. 2017 Mar 22;12(3):e0174143. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174143. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

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.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Neurons / physiology
  • Olfactory Bulb / metabolism*
  • Reproduction / physiology
  • Sexual Behavior, Animal / physiology*
  • Smell / physiology
  • Zebrafish / metabolism*
  • Zebrafish / physiology*

Substances

  • Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone

Grants and funding

This work was supported in part by grants from the Department of Defense (65632-LS-II; 68008-LS-II), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81671242), and the National Basic Research Program of China (973-2012CB944700). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.