A Co-Expressed Cluster of Genes in the Anterior Brain of Female Crickets Activated by a Species-Specific Calling Song

TL;DR

Female crickets have a specific brain region and gene cluster that respond to the mating call of their species.

Contribution

Identified a co-expressed gene cluster in the anterior brain of female crickets activated by species-specific calling songs.

Findings

Acoustic stimulation caused specific transcriptional changes in the anterior protocerebrum of crickets.

A calling song-responsive gene module was identified with six key hub genes.

These genes are central to auditory mate recognition in female crickets.

Abstract

Crickets use the pulse pattern of the species-specific calling song as a primary cue for mate recognition. Here we combined transcriptome profiling of brain regions with network-based analyses in Gryllus bimaculatus exposed to silence or pulse trains known to elicit strong or weak phonotactic attraction. Acoustic stimulation triggered specific transcriptional changes in the brain, with the anterior protocerebrum showing the most pronounced and selective responses to the calling song pattern, characterized by enrichment in neuromodulatory and neurotransmitter-related pathways. Weighted gene co-expression analysis identified a specific cluster of highly co-expressed genes in the anterior brain (termed the calling song-responsive module) that responded selectively only to the calling song stimulus. Genetic network topology analysis revealed six highly connected key hub genes within the calling song-responsive module—GbOrb2, Gbgl, Gbpum, GbDnm, GbCadN, and GbNCadN. These genes showed extensive interactions with many other genes in the network, suggesting their central regulatory role in response to calling song in female crickets. These findings support the anterior brain as a central integrator of cricket auditory mate recognition cues and point to a core molecular network that likely underpins this behavior.

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