Localization of glutamatergic, GABAergic, and cholinergic neurons in the brain of the African cichlid fish,Astatotilapia burtoni

Abstract

Neural communication depends on release and reception of different neurotransmitters within complex circuits that ultimately mediate basic biological functions. We mapped the distribution of glutamatergic, GABAergic, and cholinergic neurons in the brain of the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni using in situ hybridization to label vesicular glutamate transporters (vglut1, vglut2.1, vglut3), glutamate decarboxylases (gad1, gad2), and choline acetyltransferase (chat). Cells expressing the glutamatergic markers vgluts 1-3 show primarily nonoverlapping distribution patterns, with the most widespread expression observed for vglut2.1, and more restricted expression of vglut1 and vglut3. vglut1 is prominent in granular layers of the cerebellum, habenula, preglomerular nuclei, and several other diencephalic, mesencephalic, and rhombencephalic regions. vglut2.1 is widely expressed in many nuclei from the olfactory bulbs to the hindbrain, while vglut3 is restricted to the hypothalamus and hindbrain. GABAergic cells show largely overlapping gad1 and gad2 expression in most brain regions. GABAergic expression dominates nuclei of the subpallial ventral telencephalon, while glutamatergic expression dominates nuclei of the pallial dorsal telencephalon. chat-expressing cells are prominent in motor cranial nerve nuclei, and some scattered cells lie in the preoptic area and ventral part of the ventral telencephalon. A localization summary of these markers within regions of the conserved social decision-making network reveals a predominance of either GABAergic or glutamatergic cells within individual nuclei. The neurotransmitter distributions described here in the brain of a single fish species provide an important resource for identification of brain nuclei in other fishes, as well as future comparative studies on circuit organization and function. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:610-638, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Atlas of the telencephalon based on cytoarchitecture, neurochemical markers, and gene expressions in Rhinogobius flumineus [Mizuno, 1960]

“…Besides this in R. flumineus , vglut1 ‐positive cells cover a relatively wide range of the Dl (Dl1, Dl3, Dl4, and Dl7), while subdivisions with vglut2a ‐positive cells are confined to the Dl3 and Dl4 (Table , Figure ). On the contrary, all of the four subdivisions of the Dl of a cichlid Astatotilapia burtoni express both vglut1 and vglut2 (Maruska et al, ). Additionally, in R. flumineus , all subdivisions of the Dl except for the Dl1 and Dl6 receive sparse calretinin‐ir fibers, as is the case with the zebrafish (Castro et al, ).…”

“…The Ddmg of the knifefish contains many large cells intermingled with a few small cells (Giassi et al, ), the latter cell population might perhaps be GABAergic. The Dd of a cichlid does not appear to contain a dense cluster of vglut2 ‐positive cells (Maruska et al, ). Furthermore, in R. flumineus , the population of vglut2a ‐positive small cells extends rostrally to locate ventrolaterally adjacent to the Vc1 (Figure ).…”

“…The telencephalic hemisphere is further divided into the dorsal and ventral telencephalic areas, which correspond to the pallium and subpallium of mammals, respectively (Kage et al, ; Wullimann & Mueller, ). Previous studies of zebrafish ( Danio rerio , Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) and a cichlid Astatotilapia burtoni clearly discriminated the dorsal and ventral telencephalic structures on the basis of the expression of transcription factors and gad , a subpallial marker (Ganz et al, ; Maruska, Butler, Field, & Porter, ; Mueller & Guo, ; Mueller, Wullimann, & Guo, ). In addition, distribution patterns of some neurochemical substances, such as neurotransmitter related factors (e.g., synthetase, receptor, and transporter), neuropeptides, and sex hormone receptors, are also helpful in demarcating brain structures.…”

The Brain of the Archerfish Toxotes chatareus: A Nissl-Based Neuroanatomical Atlas and Catecholaminergic/Cholinergic Systems

“…1A recent report on GABA cell patterns in another acanthomorph species interprets this area DMv as a subpallial, ventral telencephalic supracommissural nucleus (Vs-m) (see Maruska et al, 2016). …”

Expression of tachykinin3 and related reproductive markers in the brain of the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni

“…Stained slides were visualized on a Nikon Eclipse Ni microscope controlled by Nikon Elements software (). Chromogenic‐reacted sections were viewed with a color digital camera (Nikon DS‐Fi2) in both brightfield and phase contrast to facilitate identification of neuroanatomical markers and visualize cytoarchitecture based on an A. burtoni brain atlas and relevant papers (Fernald & Shelton, ; Maruska, Butler, Field, & Porter, ). Fluorescent slides were viewed and photographed with a monochrome digital camera (Nikon DS QiMc) using appropriate wavelength filters.…”