The decision of male medaka to mate or fight depends on two complementary androgen signaling pathways.

ABSTRACT: Adult male animals typically court and attempt to mate with females, while attacking other males. Emerging evidence from mice indicates that neurons expressing the estrogen receptor ESR1 in behaviorally relevant brain regions play a central role in mediating these mutually exclusive behavioral responses to conspecifics. However, the findings in mice are unlikely to apply to vertebrates in general because, in many species other than rodents and some birds, androgens-rather than estrogens-have been implicated in male behaviors. Here, we report that male medaka (Oryzias latipes) lacking one of the two androgen receptor subtypes (Ara) are less aggressive toward other males and instead actively court them, while those lacking the other subtype (Arb) are less motivated to mate with female

SUBMITTER: Nishiike Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11145247 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature