Vocalization behavior of A53T SynGFP transgenic mice compared to wildtype mice

<p>The novel transgenic mouse strain A53T SynGFP expresses the human A53T mutation, which encodes the alpha-synuclein protein and is associated with greater risk of Parkinson's Disease. Mice expressing the A53T SynGFP transgene overexpress alpha-synuclein and develop synuclein pathology when induced with pre-formed fibrils of misfolded alpha-synuclein. The synuclein proteins are also tagged with a green fluorescent protein, allowing the ability for the synuclein aggregates to be imaged without staining and easy genotyping. The A53T SynGFP transgenic strain is a possible model to study functional changes under progressive synuclein pathology, however, it is unknown how the transgene affects animal behavior at baseline. In this study, male and female A53T SynGFP transgenic mice (n = 16) and wildtype C57/BL6 (n = 13) mice were included. Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) produced by each animal were recorded over five baseline day. USV recordings were identified using the Sonotrack analysis software and statistical analyses were run using a custom made R script. USVs were classified as simple or complex based on the acoustic characteristics of the vocalizations, and statistical analysis was striated between the two USV classification categories. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two genotype groups for the ratio of simple to complex USVs produced, USV duration, USV frequency range, or USV maximum intensity. There were no difference in the number of simple USVs produced, but a statistically significant difference in the number of complex USVs produced was observed (p < 0.05). However, the difference is not clinically relevant and transgenic animals were observed to produce 2 more USVs per day than the wildtype animals. Our results show there are no baseline differences in vocalization caused by the A53T SynGFP transgene.</p>