Evolutionary differentiation of androgen receptor is responsible for sexual characteristic development in a teleost fish.

ABSTRACT: Teleost fishes exhibit complex sexual characteristics in response to androgens, such as fin enlargement and courtship display. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their evolutionary acquisition remain largely unknown. To address this question, we analyse medaka (Oryzias latipes) mutants deficient in teleost-specific androgen receptor ohnologs (ara and arb). We discovered that neither ar ohnolog was required for spermatogenesis, whilst they appear to be functionally redundant for the courtship display in males. However, both were required for reproductive success: ara for tooth enlargement and the reproductive behaviour eliciting female receptivity, arb for male-specific fin morphogenesis and sexual motivation. We further showed that differences between the two ar ohnologs in their

SUBMITTER: Ogino Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10014959 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature