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Biological Sciences

AVT

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Full-Text Articles in Biology

Diurnal Rhythms Of Behavior And Brain Mrna Expression For Arginine Vasotocin, Isotocin, And Their Receptors In Wild Amargosa Pupfish (Cyprinodon Nevadensis Amargosae), Sean C. Lema, Lauren J. Wagstaff, Nina M. Gardner Jul 2010

Diurnal Rhythms Of Behavior And Brain Mrna Expression For Arginine Vasotocin, Isotocin, And Their Receptors In Wild Amargosa Pupfish (Cyprinodon Nevadensis Amargosae), Sean C. Lema, Lauren J. Wagstaff, Nina M. Gardner

Biological Sciences

Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae) occupy remote desert habitats that vary widely in environmental conditions from day to night. In this study, die! patterns of behavior were documented for pupfish in their natural habitat, and examined relative to changes in the abundance of mRNAs encoding prepro-arginine vasotocin (pro-VT), prepro-isotocin (pro-IT), three distinct vasotocin receptors (V1a1, V1a2, and V2), and an isotocin receptor (ITR) in the brain. The behavior of wild pupfish varied diurnally, with frequent aggression from 12:00 to 15:00 h and courtship and spawning most common between 15:00 and 19:00h. Transcript abundance for pro-VT in the brain …


Exogenous Vasotocin Alters Aggression During Agonistic Exchanges In Male Amargosa River Pupfish (Cyprinodon Nevadensis Amargosae), Sean C. Lema, Gabrielle A. Nevitt Dec 2004

Exogenous Vasotocin Alters Aggression During Agonistic Exchanges In Male Amargosa River Pupfish (Cyprinodon Nevadensis Amargosae), Sean C. Lema, Gabrielle A. Nevitt

Biological Sciences

Pupfishes in the Death Valley region have rapidly differentiated in social behaviors since their isolation in a series of desert streams, springs, and marshes less than 20,000 years ago. These habitats can show dramatic fluctuations in ecological conditions, and pupfish must cope with the changes by plastic physiological and behavioral responses. Recently, we showed differences among some Death Valley populations in brain expression of arginine vasotocin (AVT). As AVT regulates both hydromineral balance and social behaviors in other taxa, these population differences may indicate adaptive changes in osmoregulatory and/or behavioral processes. To test whether AVT is relevant for behavioral shifts …


Variation In Vasotocin Immunoreactivity In The Brain Of Recently Isolated Populations Of A Death Valley Pupfish, Cyprinodon Nevadensis, Sean C. Lema, Gabrielle A. Nevitt Feb 2004

Variation In Vasotocin Immunoreactivity In The Brain Of Recently Isolated Populations Of A Death Valley Pupfish, Cyprinodon Nevadensis, Sean C. Lema, Gabrielle A. Nevitt

Biological Sciences

Pupfishes in the Death Valley region of California and Nevada comprise a monophyletic group of populations that became isolated in remote streams and springs over the past 20,000 years. These aquatic habitats show considerable ecological diversity, and allopatric populations have evolved differences in morphology and behavior. Here we investigated whether the divergence of pupfish populations in Death Valley might be associated with changes in arginine vasotocin (AVT). We used immunocytochemistry to compare the expression of AVT in the brain of Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis) from two Death Valley populations: (1) the Amargosa River—a highly variable desert stream containing …