Understanding mechanisms of sex specification and phenotypes in an animal model

了解动物模型中性别规范和表型的机制

• 批准号: 10397631
• 负责人: GARY J ROSE
• 金额: $ 7.63万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-05-01 至 2024-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10397631
• 关键词: Address; Adult; Amygdaloid structure; Animal Model; Anterior; Area; Arginine; Behavior; Behavioral; Behavioral Mechanisms; Biological; Biological Process; Brain; Brain region; Cell Nucleus; Color; Competence; Courtship; Electrophysiology (science); Environment; Etiology; Excision; FOS gene; Female; Fishes; Gender Identity; Gender identity disorder; Gene Expression; Glutamates; Goals; Human; Hypothalamic structure; Immediate-Early Genes; Immunohistochemistry; Iontophoresis; Label; Lateral; Mediating; Midbrain structure; Modeling; Monitor; Neurobiology; Neurons; Organism; Phase; Phenotype; Phenotypic Sex; Physiological; Play; Positioning Attribute; Preoptic Areas; Process; Product Labeling; Property; Proxy; Public Health; Regulation; Research; Role; Social Behavior; Social Dominance; Social Environment; Social status; System; Techniques; Telencephalon; Testing; Time; Up-Regulation; Vasotocin; Work; base; behavioral plasticity; court; diencephalon; experimental study; gender dysphoria; in vivo; male; microstimulation; midbrain central gray substance; neural circuit; neurophysiology; novel; programs; receptor; relating to nervous system; response; sex; skin color; social; social structure

Mechanisms of behavioral sex plasticity in sex-changing wrasses The biological processes that underlie behavioral sex phenotype are incompletely understood. Organisms that naturally undergo sex transformations in response to changes in their social environment provide excellent systems in which to investigate mechanisms of behavioral sex specification. Bluehead wrasses in particular are well suited for addressing this problem. Adult females can switch sex in response to changes in social structure. Further, behavioral sex transformation can occur rapidly, thereby providing an opportunity to investigate the neurobiological basis of this plasticity. We propose to further develop this system as a model for investigating mechanisms of plasticity of behavioral sex phenotype. The proposed work builds on our ‘priming/gating’ hypothesis of behavioral sex transformation; this hypothesis accounts for the relation between social rank and competency for transformation. Our first objective is to compare the expression of the immediate-early genes, c-Fos and p-S6, in courting and non- courting fish. We expect that results will further elucidate the neural circuits that control the expression of male-typical courtship behavior. To test for causal roles of these circuits in courtship behavior, we plan to iontophorese glutamate to discretely activate particular brain regions and monitor courtship-related changes in skin coloration. Our goal is to identify properties of neural circuits that underlie competency to undergo behavioral sex transformation.

变性濑鱼行为性别可塑性的机制