Project description:Male zebra finches of a captive population in the University of Sheffield were artificially selected for long or short sperm based on their breeding values for three generations. We used Affymetrix microarrays to examine gene expression differences between testes of selection line male birds.
Project description:The aim of this experiment was to test whether the social setting changed neural transcriptomic responses to an endotoxin challenge in zebra finches
Project description:Regenerating feathers of the Gouldian finches were collected from heads of moulting individuals from an Australian captive population. Affymetrix microarrays were used to examine gene expression differences between black and red morphs.
Project description:Human speech is one of the few examples of vocal learning among mammals, yet ~half of avian species exhibit this ability. Its genetic basis is unknown beyond a shared requirement for FoxP2 in both humans and zebra finches. Here we manipulated FoxP2 isoforms in Area X during a critical period for song development, delineating, for the first time, unique contributions of each to vocal learning. We used weighted gene coexpression network analysis of RNA-seq data to construct transcriptional profiles and found gene modules correlated to singing, learning, or vocal variability. The juvenile song modules were preserved adults, whereas the learning modules were not. The learning modules were preserved in the striatopallidum adjacent to Area X whereas the song modules were not. The confluence of learning and singing coexpression in juvenile, but not adult, Area X may underscore molecular processes that drive vocal learning in zebra finches and, by analogy, humans.
Project description:Abstract: Juvenile zebra finches learn to sing by imitating songs of adult males early in life. The development of the song control circuit and the song learning and maturation processes are highly intertwined, involving gene expression, neurogenesis, circuit formation, synaptic modification, and sensory-motor learning, which eventually lead to a mature song. To better understand the genetic mechanisms underlying these events, we used RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) to profile genome-wide transcriptomes in the HVC, a brain nucleus controlling song behavior, in juvenile and adult zebra finches. We found that gene expression programs related to axon guidance, RNA metabolism, lipid metabolism, and ATP synthesis were enriched in the HVC relative to the rest of the brain in juveniles. As juveniles matured into adults, massive gene expression changes occurred in the HVC. Gene expression shifted from amino acid metabolism, laminin interaction, cell proliferation, and mitochondrial protein translation to synaptic functions; genes associated with G protein coupled-receptors, GTPase signaling, ion channels, and inhibitory transmission increased expression. Unexpectedly, a group of genes known for their functions in the immune system was also developmentally regulated in the HVC. These data will serve as a rich resource for further analysis of development and function of a neural circuit that controls vocal behavior.
Project description:Song learning in zebra finches is a prototypical example of a complex learned behavior, yet knowledge on the underlying molecular processes is limited. Therefore, we characterized transcriptomic (RNA sequencing) and epigenomic (RRBS, reduced representation bisulfite sequencing; immunofluorescence) dynamics in matched zebra finch telencephalon samples of both sexes from 1 day post hatching (1 dph) to adulthood, spanning the critical period for song learning (20 dph and 65 dph). We identified extensive transcriptional neurodevelopmental changes during postnatal telencephalon development. DNA (hydroxy)methylation was very low, yet increased over time, particularly in song control nuclei. Only a small fraction of the massive differential expression in the developing zebra finch telencephalon could be explained by differential CpG and CpH DNA methylation. However, a strong association between DNA methylation and age dependent gene expression was found for various transcription factors (i.a. OTX2, AR and FOS) involved in neurodevelopment. Additionally, genomic regions featured by age dependent differential methylation in differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched for specific transcription factor binding motifs. Incomplete dosage compensation was found to be largely responsible for sexually dimorphic gene expression, with dosage compensation increasing throughout life. In conclusion, our results indicate that DNA methylation regulates neurodevelopmental gene expression dynamics through steering transcription factor activity, but does not explain sexually dimorphic gene expression patterns in zebra finch telencephalon.
Project description:Song learning in zebra finches is a prototypical example of a complex learned behavior, yet knowledge on the underlying molecular processes is limited. Therefore, we characterized transcriptomic (RNA sequencing) and epigenomic (RRBS, reduced representation bisulfite sequencing; immunofluorescence) dynamics in matched zebra finch telencephalon samples of both sexes from 1 day post hatching (1 dph) to adulthood, spanning the critical period for song learning (20 dph and 65 dph). We identified extensive transcriptional neurodevelopmental changes during postnatal telencephalon development. DNA (hydroxy)methylation was very low, yet increased over time, particularly in song control nuclei. Only a small fraction of the massive differential expression in the developing zebra finch telencephalon could be explained by differential CpG and CpH DNA methylation. However, a strong association between DNA methylation and age dependent gene expression was found for various transcription factors (i.a. OTX2, AR and FOS) involved in neurodevelopment. Additionally, genomic regions featured by age dependent differential methylation in differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched for specific transcription factor binding motifs. Incomplete dosage compensation was found to be largely responsible for sexually dimorphic gene expression, with dosage compensation increasing throughout life. In conclusion, our results indicate that DNA methylation regulates neurodevelopmental gene expression dynamics through steering transcription factor activity, but does not explain sexually dimorphic gene expression patterns in zebra finch telencephalon.
Project description:An Infinium microarray platform (GPL28271, HorvathMammalMethylChip40) was used to generate DNA methylation data from many tissues of plains zebras (Equus quagga). Both whole blood (96) and remote biopsy (24) samples were obtained from a captive population of zebras maintained in a semi-wild state. After eliminating samples with low confidence for individual identity and age, we retained 76 blood samples and 20 biopsy samples, totaling 96 zebra samples.