A conserved transcriptional fingerprint of multi-neurotransmitter neurons necessary for social behavior.

Background: An essential determinant of a neuron's functionality is its neurotransmitter phenotype. We previously identified a defined subpopulation of cholinergic neurons required for social orienting behavior in zebrafish.

Results: We transcriptionally profiled these neurons and discovered that they are capable of synthesizing both acetylcholine and GABA. We also established a constellation of transcription factors and neurotransmitter markers that can be used as a "transcriptomic fingerprint" to recognize a homologous neuronal population in another vertebrate.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that this transcriptomic fingerprint and the cholinergic-GABAergic neuronal subtype that it defines are evolutionarily conserved.