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Parker CG, Gruenhagen GW, Hegarty BE, Histed AR, Streelman JT, Rhodes JS, Johnson ZV. Adult sex change leads to extensive forebrain reorganization in clownfish. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.29.577753. [PMID: 38352560 PMCID: PMC10862741 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.29.577753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Sexual differentiation of the brain occurs in all major vertebrate lineages but is not well understood at a molecular and cellular level. Unlike most vertebrates, sex-changing fishes have the remarkable ability to change reproductive sex during adulthood in response to social stimuli, offering a unique opportunity to understand mechanisms by which the nervous system can initiate and coordinate sexual differentiation. This study explores sexual differentiation of the forebrain using single nucleus RNA-sequencing in the anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris, producing the first cellular atlas of a sex-changing brain. We uncover extensive sex differences in cell type-specific gene expression, relative proportions of cells, baseline neuronal excitation, and predicted inter-neuronal communication. Additionally, we identify the cholecystokinin, galanin, and estrogen systems as central molecular axes of sexual differentiation. Supported by these findings, we propose a model of neurosexual differentiation in the conserved vertebrate social decision-making network spanning multiple subtypes of neurons and glia, including neuronal subpopulations within the preoptic area that are positioned to regulate gonadal differentiation. This work deepens our understanding of sexual differentiation in the vertebrate brain and defines a rich suite of molecular and cellular pathways that differentiate during adult sex change in anemonefish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coltan G. Parker
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - George W. Gruenhagen
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Brianna E. Hegarty
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Abigail R. Histed
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Jeffrey T. Streelman
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Justin S. Rhodes
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Zachary V. Johnson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Tamagawa K, Sunobe T, Makino T, Kawata M. Transcriptomic signatures associated with underlying rapid changes in the early phase brain of bi-directional sex change in Trimma okinawae. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:231450. [PMID: 38077214 PMCID: PMC10698487 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Teleost fish exhibit remarkable sexual plasticity and divergent developmental systems, including sequential hermaphroditism. One of the more fascinating models of sexual plasticity is socially controlled sex change, which is often observed in coral reef fish. The Okinawa rubble goby, Trimma okinawae, is a bi-directional sex-changing fish. It can rapidly change sex in either direction based on social circumstances. Although behavioural and neuroendocrine sex change occurs immediately and is believed to trigger gonadal changes, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a de novo transcriptome analysis of the T. okinawae brain and identified genes that are differentially expressed between the sexes and genes that were immediately controlled by social stimulation implicating sex change. Several genes showed concordant expression shifts regardless of the sex change direction and were associated with histone modification in nerve cells. These genes are known to function in the neuroendocrine control of reproduction in nerve cells. Overall, we identified genes associated with the initiation of sex change, which provides insight into the regulation of sex change and sexual plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katsunori Tamagawa
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Tomoki Sunobe
- Laboratory of Fish Behavioral Ecology, Tateyama Station, Field Science Center, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 670 Banda, Tateyama, Chiba 294-0308, Japan
| | - Takashi Makino
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Masakado Kawata
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
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