Single-nucleus profiling of social behaviour in a mutualistic reef fish
- 1The University of Hong Kong and The Swire Institute of Marine Science
Abstract
Complex social decision-making in vertebrates relies on a conserved network within the forebrain. However, the precise neural cell populations and gene regulatory networks that orchestrate these sophisticated social behaviours remain largely unresolved. Here, we present the first single-nucleus transcriptome atlas of the telencephalon in the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus, a remarkable model for advanced social cognition. Profiling ~67,000 telencephalic nuclei, we mapped the neural architecture of the teleost forebrain and identified highly conserved cell populations including a cholinergic-GABAergic neuron population implicated in social behaviours and cells resembling mammalian striatal medium spiny neurons and hippocampal cell types. By comparing distinct behavioural states, we found that socially interacting fish expanded radial glial subclusters, and associative learning co-expression networks, whereas social observers exhibited gene expression signatures for motivation and behavioural preparedness. Ultimately, the resolved telencephalon atlas reveals the evolutionarily conserved cellular and molecular substrates that may govern complex social behaviour across vertebrates.
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BibTeX
@misc{desantis2026singlenucleus,
title = {{Single-nucleus profiling of social behaviour in a mutualistic reef fish}},
author = {D. Desantis and D. J. Wright and W. Haerty and A. Lister and I. C. Macaulay and C. Schunter},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.15.751910},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.751910v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Single-nucleus profiling of social behaviour in a mutualistic reef fish
AU - D. Desantis
AU - D. J. Wright
AU - W. Haerty
AU - A. Lister
AU - I. C. Macaulay
AU - C. Schunter
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.15.751910
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.751910v1
AB - Complex social decision-making in vertebrates relies on a conserved network within the forebrain. However, the precise neural cell populations and gene regulatory networks that orchestrate these sophisticated social behaviours remain largely unresolved. Here, we present the first single-nucleus transcriptome atlas of the telencephalon in the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus, a remarkable model for advanced social cognition. Profiling ~67,000 telencephalic nuclei, we mapped the neural architecture of the teleost forebrain and identified highly conserved cell populations including a cholinergic-GABAergic neuron population implicated in social behaviours and cells resembling mammalian striatal medium spiny neurons and hippocampal cell types. By comparing distinct behavioural states, we found that socially interacting fish expanded radial glial subclusters, and associative learning co-expression networks, whereas social observers exhibited gene expression signatures for motivation and behavioural preparedness. Ultimately, the resolved telencephalon atlas reveals the evolutionarily conserved cellular and molecular substrates that may govern complex social behaviour across vertebrates.
ER -