Single-cell transcriptomic reveals a cell atlas and diversity of chicken amygdala responded to social hierarchy

Amygdala serves as a highly cellular, heterogeneous brain region containing excitatory and inhibitory neurons, and is involved in the dopamine and serotoninergic neuron systems. Increased studies have revealed the underpinned mechanism mediating social hierarchy in mammal and vertebrate, however, there is rare studies conducting on how amydala on social hierarchy in poultry. In this study, we conducted food competition tests and determined the social hierarchy of the rooster. We performed cross-species analysis with mammalian amygdala, and found that cell types of human and rhesus monkeys were more closely related and that of chickens were more distant. We identified 26 clusters and divided it into 10 main clusters. Of which, GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons were associated with social behaviors. In conclusion, our results provide to serve the developmental studies of amygdala neuron system, and new insights into the underpinned mechanism of social hierarchy in roosters.