ABSTRACT
The zebrafish lateral line is an established model for hair cell organ damage, yet few studies link mechanistic disruptions to changes in biologically relevant behavior. We used larval zebrafish to determine how damage via ototoxic compounds impact rheotaxis. Larvae were treated with CuSO4 or neomycin to disrupt lateral line function then exposed to water flow stimuli. Their swimming behavior was recorded on video then DeepLabCut and SimBA software were used to track movements and classify rheotaxis behavior, respectively. Lateral line-disrupted fish performed rheotaxis, but they swam greater distances, for shorter durations, and with greater angular variance than controls. Furthermore, spectral decomposition analyses confirmed that lesioned fish exhibited ototoxic compound-specific behavioral profiles with distinct changes in the magnitude, frequency, and cross-correlation between fluctuations in linear and angular movements. Our observations demonstrate that lateral line input is needed for fish to hold their station in flow efficiently and reveals that commonly used lesion methods have unique effects on rheotaxis behavior.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
↵5 K C Newton’s current affiliation: Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR, USA
we provided quantification of neuromast ablation in a cohort of tested individuals, revised our conclusions regarding tactile cues, and expanded our descriptions of the experimental set-up and analysis.
