Plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) exhibit seasonal auditory plasticity that likely enhances their reproductive success. During the summer, type I (TI) male midshipman acoustically court females and both TI males and females exhibit increased auditory sensitivity during this period. The enhanced auditory sensitivity is associated with increased density of sensory hair cells in the saccule but not the utricle, suggesting that different mechanisms underlie physiological plasticity in distinct inner ear regions. To better understand how shifts in hair cell number occur within auditory tissues, we examined cell turnover across breeding states and sexes in midshipman fish. We found that reproductive TI males exhibited less saccular cell proliferation than non-reproductive males without a change in cell death, indicating a net loss of saccular cells during the breeding season. By contrast, saccular cell proliferation increased in summer females, with no seasonal changes in other inner ear epithelia. Collectively, our data reveal that multiple mechanisms likely contribute to seasonal auditory plasticity within a single species, potentially within the ear of an individual animal.
Reproductive state-dependent cell turnover in the inner ear of the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus)
Present address: Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 8350 Ricketts Point Rd, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010, USA
Present address: Section on Sensory Cell Development and Function, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Present address: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, 200 First St, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
Present address: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA
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