Zebrafish Sexual Behavior: Role of Sex Steroid Hormones and Prostaglandins

Overview

Journal Behav Brain Funct

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Neurology
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 2015 Sep 20

PMID 26385780

Citations 15

Authors

Ajay Pradhan

Per-Erik Olsson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Mating behavior differ between sexes and involves gonadal hormones and possibly sexually dimorphic gene expression in the brain. Sex steroids and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) have been shown to regulate mammalian sexual behavior. The present study was aimed at determining whether exposure to sex steroids and prostaglandins could alter zebrafish sexual mating behavior.

Methods: Mating behavior and successful spawning was recorded following exposure to 17β-estradiol (E2), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) and PGE2 via the water. qRT-PCR was used to analyze transcript levels in the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain of male and female zebrafish and compared to animals exposed to E2 via the water.

Results: Exposure of zebrafish to sex hormones resulted in alterations in behavior and spawning when male fish were exposed to E2 and female fish were exposed to 11-KT. Exposure to PGD2, and PGE2 did not alter mating behavior or spawning success. Determination of gene expression patterns of selected genes from three brain regions using qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the three brain regions differed in gene expression pattern and that there were differences between the sexes. In addition, E2 exposure also resulted in altered gene transcription profiles of several genes.

Conclusions: Exposure to sex hormones, but not prostaglandins altered mating behavior in zebrafish. The expression patterns of the studied genes indicate that there are large regional and gender-based differences in gene expression and that E2 treatment alter the gene expression pattern in all regions of the brain.

Citing Articles

Adult sex change leads to extensive forebrain reorganization in clownfish.

Parker C, Gruenhagen G, Hegarty B, Histed A, Streelman J, Rhodes J Biol Sex Differ. 2024; 15(1):58.

PMID: 39044232 PMC: 11267845. DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00632-0.

Mating behaviors in ovoviviparous black rockfish (): molecular function of prostaglandin E2 as both a hormone and pheromone.

Lyu L, Yao Y, Xie S, Wang X, Wen H, Li Y Mar Life Sci Technol. 2024; 6(1):15-30.

PMID: 38433961 PMC: 10902245. DOI: 10.1007/s42995-023-00214-w.

Adult sex change leads to extensive forebrain reorganization in clownfish.

Parker C, Gruenhagen G, Hegarty B, Histed A, Streelman J, Rhodes J bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 38352560 PMC: 10862741. DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.29.577753.

Zebrafish gonad mutant models reveal neuroendocrine mechanisms of brain sexual dimorphism and male mating behaviors of different brain regions.

Dai X, Pradhan A, Liu J, Liu R, Zhai G, Zhou L Biol Sex Differ. 2023; 14(1):53.

PMID: 37605245 PMC: 10440941. DOI: 10.1186/s13293-023-00534-7.

Prostaglandin E receptor Ptger4b regulates female-specific peptidergic neurons and female sexual receptivity in medaka.

Fleming T, Kikuchi Y, Nakajo M, Tachizawa M, Inazumi T, Tsuchiya S Commun Biol. 2022; 5(1):1215.

PMID: 36357668 PMC: 9649691. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04195-x.

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