Biology subjects

Perelmuter, J. T.

Publications and source records attributed to Perelmuter, J. T..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Atlas of adult Danionella fish telencephalon reveals retention of larval characters

The adult size of the vertebrate telencephalon typically impedes our interpreting its functions within the context of brain-wide circuit dynamics. Danionella, a genus of miniature and transparent teleost fishes closely related to zebrafish (Danio rerio), holds promise for whole-brain imaging and connectomics in an adult vertebrate. These advantages result from progenesis, a form of heterochrony characterized by early developmental onset of sexual maturation and cessation of growth leading to the retention of larval or juvenile characters in adults. Using molecular markers, tract tracing, and quantitative comparisons of cellular distribution patterns, we report a detailed neuroanatomical atlas of the adult Danionella dracula (Dracula fish) telencephalon. The results demonstrate that adults of Dracula fish and other Danionella species show extreme reduction in cellular migration from periventricular zones and topographic reorganization of major pallial divisions, including a compartment-like caudal pallium reminiscent of insect glomeruli (a dense neuropil surrounded by a thin layer of somata). We further document these characters in larval zebrafish, providing essential evidence corroborating a larval-like telencephalon in Danionella adults. Despite this phenotype, most canonical regions of the adult teleost telencephalon are identified. We also generate a transgenic GCaMP Dracula fish line, an annotated 3-dimensional atlas, and align functional imaging data to demonstrate the usefulness of this atlas as a resource for deciphering how the novel progenetic cytoarchitecture of the adult Danionella telencephalon can support its rich behavioral repertoire.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Acoustic and postural displays in a miniature and transparent teleost fish, Danionella dracula

Acoustic communication is widespread across vertebrates, including among fishes. We report robust acoustic displays during aggressive interactions for a laboratory colony of Danionella dracula, a relatively recently discovered miniature and transparent species of teleost fish closely related to zebrafish (Danio rerio). Males produce bursts of pulsatile, click-like sounds and a distinct postural display, extension of a hypertrophied lower jaw, during aggressive but not courtship interactions. Females lack a hypertrophied lower jaw and show no evidence of sound production or jaw extension in such contexts. Novel pairs of size-matched or -mismatched males were combined in resident-intruder assays where sound production and jaw extension could be linked to individuals. Resident males produce significantly more sound pulses and extend their jaw more often than intruders in both dyad contexts, and relatively larger males are significantly more sonic and exhibit more jaw extensions in size-mismatched pairs. The majority of highest sound producers in both contexts also show increased jaw extension during periods of heightened sonic activity. These studies firmly establish D. dracula as a sound-producing species that modulates both acoustic and postural displays during aggressive interactions based on either residency or body size, providing a foundation for further investigating the role of multimodal displays in a new model clade for neurogenomic studies of aggression, courtship, and other social interactions.

animal behavior and cognition↗