# Understanding mechanisms of sex specification and phenotypes in an animal model

> **NIH NIH R03** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2021 · $76,250

## Abstract

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.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10218751
- **Project number:** 1R03HD101863-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** GARY J ROSE
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $76,250
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10218751

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10218751, Understanding mechanisms of sex specification and phenotypes in an animal model (1R03HD101863-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10218751. Licensed CC0.

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