Automated Quantification of the Behaviour of Beef Cattle Exposed to Heat Load Conditions.

Cattle change their behaviour in response to hot temperatures, including by engaging in stepping that indicates agitation. The automated recording of these responses would be helpful in the timely diagnosis of animals experiencing heat loading. Behavioural responses of beef cattle to hot environmental conditions were studied to investigate whether it was possible to assess behavioural responses by video-digitised image analysis. Open-source automated behavioural quantification software was used to record pixel changes in 13 beef cattle videorecorded in a climate-controlled chamber during exposure to a simulated typical heat event in Queensland, Australia. Increased digitised movement was observed during the heat event, which was related to stepping and grooming/scratching activities in standing animals. The 13 cattle were exposed in two cohorts, in which the first group of cattle (n = 6) was fed a standard finisher diet based on a high percentage of cereal grains, and the second group of cattle (n = 7) received a substituted diet in which 8% of the grains were replaced by lucerne hay. The second group displayed a smaller increase in digitised movements on exposure to heat than the first, suggesting less discomfort under hot conditions. The results suggest that cattle exposed to heat display increased movement that can be detected automatically by video digitisation software, and that replacing some cereal grain with forage in the diet of feedlot cattle may reduce the measured activity responses to the heat.

Rapid, Phase-free Detection of Long Identity-by-Descent Segments Enables Effective Relationship Classification.

Identity-by-descent (IBD) segments are a useful tool for applications ranging from demographic inference to relationship classification, but most detection methods rely on phasing information and therefore require substantial computation time. As genetic datasets grow, methods for inferring IBD segments that scale well will be critical. We developed IBIS, an IBD detector that locates long regions of allele sharing between unphased individuals, and benchmarked it with Refined IBD, GERMLINE, and TRUFFLE on 3,000 simulated individuals. Phasing these with Beagle 5 takes 4.3 CPU days, followed by either Refined IBD or GERMLINE segment detection in 2.9 or 1.1 h, respectively. By comparison, IBIS finishes in 6.8 min or 7.8 min with IBD2 functionality enabled: speedups of 805-946× including phasing time. TRUFFLE takes 2.6 h, corresponding to IBIS speedups of 20.2-23.3×. IBIS is also accurate, inferring ≥7 cM IBD segments at quality comparable to Refined IBD and GERMLINE. With these segments, IBIS classifies first through third degree relatives in real Mexican American samples at rates meeting or exceeding other methods tested and identifies fourth through sixth degree pairs at rates within 0.0%-2.0% of the top method. While allele frequency-based approaches that do not detect segments can infer relationship degrees faster than IBIS, the fastest are biased in admixed samples, with KING inferring 30.8% fewer fifth degree Mexican American relatives correctly compared with IBIS. Finally, we ran IBIS on chromosome 2 of the UK Biobank dataset and estimate its runtime on the autosomes to be 3.3 days parallelized across 128 cores.

Effects of Constitutive and Acute Connexin 36 Deficiency on Brain-Wide Susceptibility to PTZ-Induced Neuronal Hyperactivity.

Connexins are transmembrane proteins that form hemichannels allowing the exchange of molecules between the extracellular space and the cell interior. Two hemichannels from adjacent cells dock and form a continuous gap junction pore, thereby permitting direct intercellular communication. Connexin 36 (Cx36), expressed primarily in neurons, is involved in the synchronous activity of neurons and may play a role in aberrant synchronous firing, as seen in seizures. To understand the reciprocal interactions between Cx36 and seizure-like neural activity, we examined three questions: (a) does Cx36 deficiency affect seizure susceptibility, (b) does seizure-like activity affect Cx36 expression patterns, and (c) does acute blockade of Cx36 conductance increase seizure susceptibility. We utilize the zebrafish pentylenetetrazol [PTZ; a GABA(A) receptor antagonist] induced seizure model, taking advantage of the compact size and optical translucency of the larval zebrafish brain to assess how PTZ affects brain-wide neuronal activity and Cx36 protein expression. We exposed wild-type and genetic Cx36-deficient (cx35.5-/-) zebrafish larvae to PTZ and subsequently mapped neuronal activity across the whole brain, using phosphorylated extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (pERK) as a proxy for neuronal activity. We found that cx35.5-/- fish exhibited region-specific susceptibility and resistance to PTZ-induced hyperactivity compared to wild-type controls, suggesting that genetic Cx36 deficiency may affect seizure susceptibility in a region-specific manner. Regions that showed increased PTZ sensitivity include the dorsal telencephalon, which is implicated in human epilepsy, and the lateral hypothalamus, which has been underexplored. We also found that PTZ-induced neuronal hyperactivity resulted in a rapid reduction of Cx36 protein levels within 30 min. This Cx36 reduction persists after 1-h of recovery but recovered after 3-6 h. This acute downregulation of Cx36 by PTZ is likely maladaptive, as acute pharmacological blockade of Cx36 by mefloquine results in increased susceptibility to PTZ-induced neuronal hyperactivity. Together, these results demonstrate a reciprocal relationship between Cx36 and seizure-associated neuronal hyperactivity: Cx36 deficiency contributes region-specific susceptibility to neuronal hyperactivity, while neuronal hyperactivity-induced downregulation of Cx36 may increase the risk of future epileptic events.

VideoHacking: Automated Tracking and Quantification of Locomotor Behavior with Open Source Software and Off-the-Shelf Video Equipment.

Differences in nervous system function can result in differences in behavioral output. Measurements of animal locomotion enable the quantification of these differences. Automated tracking of animal movement is less labor-intensive and bias-prone than direct observation, and allows for simultaneous analysis of multiple animals, high spatial and temporal resolution, and data collection over extended periods of time. Here, we present a new video-tracking system built on Python-based software that is free, open source, and cross-platform, and that can analyze video input from widely available video capture devices such as smartphone cameras and webcams. We validated this software through four tests on a variety of animal species, including larval and adult zebrafish (Danio rerio), Siberian dwarf hamsters (Phodopus sungorus), and wild birds. These tests highlight the capacity of our software for long-term data acquisition, parallel analysis of multiple animals, and application to animal species of different sizes and movement patterns. We applied the software to an analysis of the effects of ethanol on thigmotaxis (wall-hugging) behavior on adult zebrafish, and found that acute ethanol treatment decreased thigmotaxis behaviors without affecting overall amounts of motion. The open source nature of our software enables flexibility, customization, and scalability in behavioral analyses. Moreover, our system presents a free alternative to commercial video-tracking systems and is thus broadly applicable to a wide variety of educational settings and research programs.

Evolutionarily conserved regulation of hypocretin neuron specification by Lhx9.

Loss of neurons that express the neuropeptide hypocretin (Hcrt) has been implicated in narcolepsy, a debilitating disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. Cell replacement therapy, using Hcrt-expressing neurons generated in vitro, is a potentially useful therapeutic approach, but factors sufficient to specify Hcrt neurons are unknown. Using zebrafish as a high-throughput system to screen for factors that can specify Hcrt neurons in vivo, we identified the LIM homeobox transcription factor Lhx9 as necessary and sufficient to specify Hcrt neurons. We found that Lhx9 can directly induce hcrt expression and we identified two potential Lhx9 binding sites in the zebrafish hcrt promoter. Akin to its function in zebrafish, we found that Lhx9 is sufficient to specify Hcrt-expressing neurons in the developing mouse hypothalamus. Our results elucidate an evolutionarily conserved role for Lhx9 in Hcrt neuron specification that improves our understanding of Hcrt neuron development.

Neuropeptidergic control of sleep and wakefulness.

Sleep and wake are fundamental behavioral states whose molecular regulation remains mysterious. Brain states and body functions change dramatically between sleep and wake, are regulated by circadian and homeostatic processes, and depend on the nutritional and emotional condition of the animal. Sleep-wake transitions require the coordination of several brain regions and engage multiple neurochemical systems, including neuropeptides. Neuropeptides serve two main functions in sleep-wake regulation. First, they represent physiological states such as energy level or stress in response to environmental and internal stimuli. Second, neuropeptides excite or inhibit their target neurons to induce, stabilize, or switch between sleep-wake states. Thus, neuropeptides integrate physiological subsystems such as circadian time, previous neuron usage, energy homeostasis, and stress and growth status to generate appropriate sleep-wake behaviors. We review the roles of more than 20 neuropeptides in sleep and wake to lay the foundation for future studies uncovering the mechanisms that underlie the initiation, maintenance, and exit of sleep and wake states.

Neuropeptidergic signaling partitions arousal behaviors in zebrafish.

Animals modulate their arousal state to ensure that their sensory responsiveness and locomotor activity match environmental demands. Neuropeptides can regulate arousal, but studies of their roles in vertebrates have been constrained by the vast array of neuropeptides and their pleiotropic effects. To overcome these limitations, we systematically dissected the neuropeptidergic modulation of arousal in larval zebrafish. We quantified spontaneous locomotor activity and responsiveness to sensory stimuli after genetically induced expression of seven evolutionarily conserved neuropeptides, including adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide 1b (adcyap1b), cocaine-related and amphetamine-related transcript (cart), cholecystokinin (cck), calcitonin gene-related peptide (cgrp), galanin, hypocretin, and nociceptin. Our study reveals that arousal behaviors are dissociable: neuropeptide expression uncoupled spontaneous activity from sensory responsiveness, and uncovered modality-specific effects upon sensory responsiveness. Principal components analysis and phenotypic clustering revealed both shared and divergent features of neuropeptidergic functions: hypocretin and cgrp stimulated spontaneous locomotor activity, whereas galanin and nociceptin attenuated these behaviors. In contrast, cart and adcyap1b enhanced sensory responsiveness yet had minimal impacts on spontaneous activity, and cck expression induced the opposite effects. Furthermore, hypocretin and nociceptin induced modality-specific differences in responsiveness to changes in illumination. Our study provides the first systematic and high-throughput analysis of neuropeptidergic modulation of arousal, demonstrates that arousal can be partitioned into independent behavioral components, and reveals novel and conserved functions of neuropeptides in regulating arousal.

A large-scale zebrafish gene knockout resource for the genome-wide study of gene function.

With the completion of the zebrafish genome sequencing project, it becomes possible to analyze the function of zebrafish genes in a systematic way. The first step in such an analysis is to inactivate each protein-coding gene by targeted or random mutation. Here we describe a streamlined pipeline using proviral insertions coupled with high-throughput sequencing and mapping technologies to widely mutagenize genes in the zebrafish genome. We also report the first 6144 mutagenized and archived F1's predicted to carry up to 3776 mutations in annotated genes. Using in vitro fertilization, we have rescued and characterized ~0.5% of the predicted mutations, showing mutation efficacy and a variety of phenotypes relevant to both developmental processes and human genetic diseases. Mutagenized fish lines are being made freely available to the public through the Zebrafish International Resource Center. These fish lines establish an important milestone for zebrafish genetics research and should greatly facilitate systematic functional studies of the vertebrate genome.

Touch responsiveness in zebrafish requires voltage-gated calcium channel 2.1b.

The molecular and physiological basis of the touch-unresponsive zebrafish mutant fakir has remained elusive. Here we report that the fakir phenotype is caused by a missense mutation in the gene encoding voltage-gated calcium channel 2.1b (CACNA1Ab). Injection of RNA encoding wild-type CaV2.1 restores touch responsiveness in fakir mutants, whereas knockdown of CACNA1Ab via morpholino oligonucleotides recapitulates the fakir mutant phenotype. Fakir mutants display normal current-evoked synaptic communication at the neuromuscular junction but have attenuated touch-evoked activation of motor neurons. NMDA-evoked fictive swimming is not affected by the loss of CaV2.1b, suggesting that this channel is not required for motor pattern generation. These results, coupled with the expression of CACNA1Ab by sensory neurons, suggest that CaV2.1b channel activity is necessary for touch-evoked activation of the locomotor network in zebrafish.

Chromatin signature of embryonic pluripotency is established during genome activation.

After fertilization the embryonic genome is inactive until transcription is initiated during the maternal-zygotic transition. This transition coincides with the formation of pluripotent cells, which in mammals can be used to generate embryonic stem cells. To study the changes in chromatin structure that accompany pluripotency and genome activation, we mapped the genomic locations of histone H3 molecules bearing lysine trimethylation modifications before and after the maternal-zygotic transition in zebrafish. Histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), which is repressive, and H3K4me3, which is activating, were not detected before the transition. After genome activation, more than 80% of genes were marked by H3K4me3, including many inactive developmental regulatory genes that were also marked by H3K27me3. Sequential chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated that the same promoter regions had both trimethylation marks. Such bivalent chromatin domains also exist in embryonic stem cells and are thought to poise genes for activation while keeping them repressed. Furthermore, we found many inactive genes that were uniquely marked by H3K4me3. Despite this activating modification, these monovalent genes were neither expressed nor stably bound by RNA polymerase II. Inspection of published data sets revealed similar monovalent domains in embryonic stem cells. Moreover, H3K4me3 marks could form in the absence of both sequence-specific transcriptional activators and stable association of RNA polymerase II, as indicated by the analysis of an inducible transgene. These results indicate that bivalent and monovalent domains might poise embryonic genes for activation and that the chromatin profile associated with pluripotency is established during the maternal-zygotic transition.

A genetic screen identifies genes essential for development of myelinated axons in zebrafish.

The myelin sheath insulates axons in the vertebrate nervous system, allowing rapid propagation of action potentials via saltatory conduction. Specialized glial cells, termed Schwann cells in the PNS and oligodendrocytes in the CNS, wrap axons to form myelin, a compacted, multilayered sheath comprising specific proteins and lipids. Disruption of myelinated axons causes human diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth peripheral neuropathies. Despite the progress in identifying human disease genes and other mutations disrupting glial development and myelination, many important unanswered questions remain about the mechanisms that coordinate the development of myelinated axons. To address these questions, we began a genetic dissection of myelination in zebrafish. Here we report a genetic screen that identified 13 mutations, which define 10 genes, disrupting the development of myelinated axons. We present the initial characterization of seven of these mutations, defining six different genes, along with additional characterization of mutations that we have described previously. The different mutations affect the PNS, the CNS, or both, and phenotypic analyses indicate that the genes affect a wide range of steps in glial development, from fate specification through terminal differentiation. The analysis of these mutations will advance our understanding of myelination, and the mutants will serve as models of human diseases of myelin.

nsf is essential for organization of myelinated axons in zebrafish.

BACKGROUND: Myelinated axons are essential for rapid conduction of action potentials in the vertebrate nervous system. Of particular importance are the nodes of Ranvier, sites of voltage-gated sodium channel clustering that allow action potentials to be propagated along myelinated axons by saltatory conduction. Despite their critical role in the function of myelinated axons, little is known about the mechanisms that organize the nodes of Ranvier. RESULTS: Starting with a forward genetic screen in zebrafish, we have identified an essential requirement for nsf (N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor) in the organization of myelinated axons. Previous work has shown that NSF is essential for membrane fusion in eukaryotes and has a critical role in vesicle fusion at chemical synapses. Zebrafish nsf mutants are paralyzed and have impaired response to light, reflecting disrupted nsf function in synaptic transmission and neural activity. In addition, nsf mutants exhibit defects in Myelin basic protein expression and in localization of sodium channel proteins at nodes of Ranvier. Analysis of chimeric larvae indicates that nsf functions autonomously in neurons, such that sodium channel clusters are evident in wild-type neurons transplanted into the nsf mutant hosts. Through pharmacological analyses, we show that neural activity and function of chemical synapses are not required for sodium channel clustering and myelination in the larval nervous system. CONCLUSIONS: Zebrafish nsf mutants provide a novel vertebrate system to investigate Nsf function in vivo. Our results reveal a previously unknown role for nsf, independent of its function in synaptic vesicle fusion, in the formation of the nodes of Ranvier in the vertebrate nervous system.

The zebrafish gene map defines ancestral vertebrate chromosomes.

Genetic screens in zebrafish (Danio rerio) have identified mutations that define the roles of hundreds of essential vertebrate genes. Genetic maps can link mutant phenotype with gene sequence by providing candidate genes for mutations and polymorphic genetic markers useful in positional cloning projects. Here we report a zebrafish genetic map comprising 4073 polymorphic markers, with more than twice the number of coding sequences localized in previously reported zebrafish genetic maps. We use this map in comparative studies to identify numerous regions of synteny conserved among the genomes of zebrafish, Tetraodon, and human. In addition, we use our map to analyze gene duplication in the zebrafish and Tetraodon genomes. Current evidence suggests that a whole-genome duplication occurred in the teleost lineage after it split from the tetrapod lineage, and that only a subset of the duplicates have been retained in modern teleost genomes. It has been proposed that differential retention of duplicate genes may have facilitated the isolation of nascent species formed during the vast radiation of teleosts. We find that different duplicated genes have been retained in zebrafish and Tetraodon, although similar numbers of duplicates remain in both genomes. Finally, we use comparative mapping data to address the proposal that the common ancestor of vertebrates had a genome consisting of 12 chromosomes. In a three-way comparison between the genomes of zebrafish, Tetraodon, and human, our analysis delineates the gene content for 11 of these 12 proposed ancestral chromosomes.

erbb3 and erbb2 are essential for schwann cell migration and myelination in zebrafish.

BACKGROUND: Myelin is critical for efficient axonal conduction in the vertebrate nervous system. Neuregulin (Nrg) ligands and their ErbB receptors are required for the development of Schwann cells, the glial cells that form myelin in the peripheral nervous system. Previous studies have not determined whether Nrg-ErbB signaling is essential in vivo for Schwann cell fate specification, proliferation, survival, migration, or the onset of myelination. RESULTS: In genetic screens for mutants with disruptions in myelinated nerves, we identified mutations in erbb3 and erbb2, which together encode a heteromeric tyrosine kinase receptor for Neuregulin ligands. Phenotypic analysis shows that both genes are essential for development of Schwann cells. BrdU-incorporation studies and time-lapse analysis reveal that Schwann cell proliferation and migration, but not survival, are disrupted in erbb3 mutants. We show that Schwann cells can migrate in the absence of DNA replication. This uncoupling of proliferation and migration indicates that erbb gene function is required independently for these two processes. Pharmacological inhibition of ErbB signaling at different stages reveals a continuing requirement for ErbB function during migration and also provides evidence that ErbB signaling is required after migration for proliferation and the terminal differentiation of myelinating Schwann cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide in vivo evidence that Neuregulin-ErbB signaling is essential for directed Schwann cell migration and demonstrate that this pathway is also required for the onset of myelination in postmigratory Schwann cells.

The you gene encodes an EGF-CUB protein essential for Hedgehog signaling in zebrafish.

Hedgehog signaling is required for many aspects of development in vertebrates and invertebrates. Misregulation of the Hedgehog pathway causes developmental abnormalities and has been implicated in certain types of cancer. Large-scale genetic screens in zebrafish have identified a group of mutations, termed you-class mutations, that share common defects in somite shape and in most cases disrupt Hedgehog signaling. These mutant embryos exhibit U-shaped somites characteristic of defects in slow muscle development. In addition, Hedgehog pathway mutations disrupt spinal cord patterning. We report the positional cloning of you, one of the original you-class mutations, and show that it is required for Hedgehog signaling in the development of slow muscle and in the specification of ventral fates in the spinal cord. The you gene encodes a novel protein with conserved EGF and CUB domains and a secretory pathway signal sequence. Epistasis experiments support an extracellular role for You upstream of the Hedgehog response mechanism. Analysis of chimeras indicates that you mutant cells can appropriately respond to Hedgehog signaling in a wild-type environment. Additional chimera analysis indicates that wild-type you gene function is not required in axial Hedgehog-producing cells, suggesting that You is essential for transport or stability of Hedgehog signals in the extracellular environment. Our positional cloning and functional studies demonstrate that You is a novel extracellular component of the Hedgehog pathway in vertebrates.

Rapid mapping of zebrafish mutations with SNPs and oligonucleotide microarrays.

Large-scale genetic screens in zebrafish have identified thousands of mutations in hundreds of essential genes. The genetic mapping of these mutations is necessary to link DNA sequences to the gene functions defined by mutant phenotypes. Here, we report two advances that will accelerate the mapping of zebrafish mutations: (1) The construction of a first generation single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) map of the zebrafish genome comprising 2035 SNPs and 178 small insertions/deletions, and (2) the development of a method for mapping mutations in which hundreds of SNPs can be scored in parallel with an oligonucleotide microarray. We have demonstrated the utility of the microarray technique in crosses with haploid and diploid embryos by mapping two known mutations to their previously identified locations. We have also used this approach to localize four previously unmapped mutations. We expect that mapping with SNPs and oligonucleotide microarrays will accelerate the molecular analysis of zebrafish mutations.