Mapping and comparing androgen receptor expression in the brain of a suboscine and an oscine bird

DA COSTA ARAÚJO, J.; CUETO, V.R.; GAHR, M.

Congreso; XXVII Annual Meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology; 2023

In oscine passerines, the songbirds, singing behaviors are androgensensitive while androgenic vocal behaviors are less wellcharacterized in suboscine passerines, the sister group of songbirdsin the order Passeriformes. Androgens act on target areas via bindingto an intracellular receptor molecule, the androgen receptor (AR), aligand activated transcription factor. Thus, cells expressing theandrogen receptor gene are potential targets for androgenic action inthe brain. We compared the distribution of AR mRNA expressing neuronsthroughout the brains of the suboscine White-crested Elaenia (Elaeniaalbiceps) and of a songbird, the canary (Serinus canaria). Brains often males and ten females White-crested Elaenia were collected duringthe breeding season. Three male canaries of the nonbreeding and threemale canaries of breeding season were collected. We confirmed brainareas well-known to express ARs either in birds in general (includingpreoptichypothalamic areas, midbrain regions, hindbrain regions) inthe Elaenia and the canary. Further, we confirmed brain areas whichare specific to songbirds in the canary the song controllingforebrain regions. Areas of the Elaenia homologous to the songcontrolling forebrain regions expressed no or only little AR mRNA.For the canary it seems that AR mRNA expression differs seasonally insome areas such as the HVC. Further, in difference to previous ARmapping studies, we detected many brain regions to contain AR mRNA inboth the Elaenia and the canary, which were far unknown beingandrogen sensitive.