Alterations of slitrk5a induce OCD-like “checking behaviors” in zebrafish

The six transmembrane SLITRK proteins differentially regulate important aspects of neuronal development and function. Variants in <i>SLITRK5</i> have been associated with complex neuropsychiatric conditions including obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and <i>Slitrk5</i> knockout mice exhibit overgrooming and anxiety-like behaviors. This study generated <i>slitrk5a</i> zebrafish mutants using CRISPR-Cas9. Alterations in <i>slitrk5a</i> did not affect F ₀ gross embryonic development or anxiety-like behaviors, however, a repetitive, checking behavior was significantly increased in the novel approach test (NAT). This observation in zebrafish supports an emerging association of <i>SLITRK5</i> sequence alterations with OCD-like repetitive behaviors.