Abstract:Learning and memory play important roles in species obtaining new foraging skills and food preferences. In order to study the influence of learning and memory pathways on the regulation of feeding in Chinese perch Siniperca chuatsi, an overexpression vector of learning and memory related genes c-fos and zif268 was constructed, and pcDNA3.1- EGFP was chosen as the reporter plasmid and transferred into Chinese perch brain cells by electroporation. The optimal electroporation conditions were determined by testing the transfection efficiency with different voltages, plasmid amounts, transfection times, and numbers of shocks. The results showed that learning and memory overexpression vector pcDNA3.1-c-fos-EGFP, pcDNA3.1-zif268-EGFP was successfully constructed. The maximum electroporation efficiency was achieved under the following conditions: in a 0.2 cm electroporation cuvette containing brain cells (1×106 /mL), electric voltage 240 V, pulse time 5 ms, 6 μg of plasmid, one electric shock, and transfection time of 48 h. We demonstrated that pcDNA3.1-EGFP was successfully transfected into Chinese perch brain cells in vitro. The mRNA expression levels of the appetite genes agrp, pomc, mch, npy were detected after overexpression of learning and memory genes. After overexpression of the c-fos gene, the mRNA expression of the appetite genes pomc and mch was significantly higher. After overexpression of the zif268 gene, there were no significant changes in the mRNA expression levels of the agrp, mch, npy and pomc genes in vitro. In summary, the results confirm that social learning can promote the acquisition of feeding habits in Chinese perch through the c-fos signaling pathway. As a transcription factor, c-Fos is likely to regulate the expression of appetite genes pomc and npy.