Ricerc@Sapienza

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of a temperature increase on the behaviour of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) maintained for 21 days at 34 °C (treatment) and 26 °C (control). The temperatures chosen are within the vital range of zebrafish and correspond to temperatures that this species encounters in the natural environment. Previous results showed that the same treatment affects the brain proteome and the behaviour of adult zebrafish by producing alterations in the proteins involved in neurotransmitter release and synaptic function and impairing fish exploratory behaviour.

Environmental temperature variations affect many properties and functions of biomolecules and structural components at the cellular level, and influence the animal physiology and behavior at the organism level. It is well accepted that the biochemical changes induced by temperature stress are attributed to gene expression modulations. The aim of this work was to understand the molecular mechanism and the behavioural responses correlated to temperature stress in zebrafish (Danio rerio), which is a widely used animal model for environmental genomics researches.