ENDOCRINE REGULATION OF SEXUALLY DIMORPHIC DEVELOPMENT

在脊椎动物类群中，特异性（T）在成体表达和维持两性异形中起作用。 然而，成年男性和女性对T操纵的反应并不总是相同的。 有时这些性二态是由于发育过程中T暴露的差异，但性腺类固醇这种发育作用的普遍性尚不清楚。 本研究将测试的假设，在T暴露在发展过程中组织的性别差异观察到成年蜥蜴（Anolis carolinensis）的性别差异;激素调节的大脑和行为的发展，在这个物种是完全未知的。 首先，由于T暴露可能是由母体卵黄T沉积引起的，因此将记录雄性和雌性卵的卵黄T。 其次，为了确定胚胎环境中T的来源，将记录排卵周期中的母体血浆T（以及它是否从母体传递到蛋黄）和胚胎T的合成和代谢。 第三，将通过用T、抗雄激素氟啶虫胺或适当的对照物处理卵或幼鱼来评估T暴露对发育的影响。 然后，将记录同性恋和异性恋对之间的行为相互作用，以确定对男性典型行为发展的治疗效果，并表征与男性典型行为相关的大脑和外周结构。

Testosterone (T) plays a role in the adult expression and maintenance of sexual dimorphisms across vertebrate taxa. Adult males and females do not always respond the same way to T manipulation, however. Sometimes these sexual dimorphisms are due to differences in T exposure during development, but the ubiquity of this developmental role for gonadal steroids is unclear. This study will test the hypothesis that sex differences in T exposure during development organize sex differences observed in adults in a lizard (Anolis carolinensis); the hormonal regulation of the development of brain and behavior in this species is completely unknown. First, because T exposure may result from maternal yolk T deposition, yolk T will be documented for male and female eggs. Second, to determine the source of T in the embryonic environment, both maternal plasma T across the ovulatory cycle (and whether it passes from mother to yolk) and embryonic T synthesis and metabolism will be documented. Third, the effects of T exposure on development will be assessed by treatment of eggs or juveniles with T, the antiandrogen flutamide, or appropriate controls. Then, behavioral interactions between consexual and heterosexual pairs will be documented to determine treatment effects on the development of male-typical behavior, and the brain and peripheral structures associated with male-typical behavior will be characterized.