Spatiotemporal Patterns of Gene Expression Associated With Mating Stimuli in the Brain of Female Guppies

Investigating the spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression in the brain is a critical step toward unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying social behavior. While significant progress has been made in identifying neurogenomic states associated with diverse social contexts and their biological pathways, genomic studies often yield hundreds of candidate genes. This necessitates pinpointing key genes that drive behavior for more targeted research. In this study, we examine how the spatiotemporal expression of selected candidate genes varies between mating and social contexts. Building on insights from previous transcriptomic analyses, we identified promising gene candidates and examined their expression patterns in the female guppy brain (Poecilia reticulata). We evaluated these patterns within the brain's social decision-making network at 10 and 30 min post-exposure to either a mating or social stimulus. Genes such as gria1a, thap6, gria2, and agap3 exhibited the most pronounced differences in expression between mating and social contexts, suggesting their potential roles in regulating mating behavior. Employing a novel hierarchical coexpression network analysis, we captured the intricate gene expression changes underlying behavior. This approach allowed us to visualize distinct patterns of brain activity, revealing that the response to mating stimuli was localized to anterior nuclei, whereas the response to social stimuli was more evenly distributed across the social decision-making network. Additionally, we observed greater variability in gene expression between social and mating contexts at the 10-min time point.