title: Sexual plasticity: A fishy tale.
abstract: Teleost fish exhibit remarkably diverse and plastic patterns of sexual development. One of the most fascinating modes of plasticity is functional sex change, which is widespread in marine fish including species of commercial importance; however, the regulatory mechanisms remain elusive. In this review, we explore such sexual plasticity in fish, using the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum) as the primary model. Synthesizing current knowledge, we propose that cortisol and key neurochemicals modulate gonadotropin releasing hormone and luteinizing hormone signaling to promote socially controlled sex change in protogynous fish. Future large-scale genomic analyses and systematic comparisons among species, combined with manipulation studies, will likely uncover the common and unique pathways governing this astonishing transformation. Revealing the molecular and neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying sex change in fish will greatly enhance our understanding of vertebrate sex determination and differentiation as well as phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental influences. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 84: 171-194, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Erica V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: P Mark
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lokman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.|W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Melissa S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lamm
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.|W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Neil J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Gemmell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D019849:Sex Determination Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone