Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
Departament de Biologia Marina, Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
Biol Lett. 2024 Oct;20(10):20240339. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0339. Epub 2024 Oct 16.
One crucial interaction for the health of fish communities in coral reefs is performed by cleaner fish by removing ectoparasites from the body of other fish, so-called clients. Studying the underlying mechanisms of this behaviour is essential to understanding how species react to social stimuli and defining the drivers of mutualistic social behaviour. Here, we pinpoint the neural molecular mechanisms in the cleaning behaviour of in the wild through an interaction experiment at a coral reef in New Caledonia. Five cleaners and clients () were placed into underwater aquaria to interact, while five were not presented with a client. The brain transcriptomes revealed 233 differentially expressed genes in cleaners that were interacting with a client. Among these genes, , , and immediate early genes (IEGs; and ) were related to learning and memory, glutamate and dopamine pathways, which confirm molecular pathways observed in laboratory studies. However, a new potential mechanism was found with (neuropeptide Y) as a driver of feeding behaviour. These results show the role of neurotransmitters and IEGs in mutualistic social behaviour, unveiling the mechanism behind the feeding stimulus that leads the cleaner fish to establish mutualistic interactions in coral reefs.
在珊瑚礁中的鱼类群落健康中，一种关键的相互作用是由清洁鱼通过从其他鱼类（所谓的客户）身上清除外寄生虫来完成的。研究这种行为的潜在机制对于理解物种如何对社会刺激做出反应以及确定互利社会行为的驱动因素至关重要。在这里，我们通过在新喀里多尼亚的珊瑚礁上进行的互动实验，确定了野生中的清洁行为的神经分子机制。将五名清洁鱼和客户（）放入水下水族馆中进行互动，而另外五名则没有客户。大脑转录组显示，与客户互动的清洁鱼中有 233 个差异表达基因。在这些基因中，与学习和记忆、谷氨酸和多巴胺途径相关的（和）以及即时早期基因（IEGs；和）证实了实验室研究中观察到的分子途径。然而，发现了一个新的潜在机制，即（神经肽 Y）作为进食行为的驱动因素。这些结果表明神经递质和 IEGs 在互利社会行为中的作用，揭示了导致清洁鱼在珊瑚礁中建立互利相互作用的进食刺激背后的机制。
