Female social dominance (FSD) over males is unusual in mammals, yet characterizes most Malagasy lemurs, which represent almost 30% of all primates. Despite its prevalence in this suborder, both the evolutionary trajectory and proximate mechanism of FSD remain unclear. Potentially associated with FSD is a suite of behavioural, physiological and morphological traits in females that implicates (as...

LA-related protein 1 (LARP-1) belongs to an RNA-binding protein family containing a LA motif. Here, we identify LARP-1 as a regulator of sex determination. In C. elegans hermaphrodites, a complex regulatory network regulates the switch from sperm to oocyte production. We find that simultaneous depletion of larp-1 and the Nanos homologue nos-3 results in germline masculinization. This phenotype ...

The role of miRNA in fish sexual development is not elucidated yet. We profiled miRNAs in gonads and brains of Atlantic halibut using SOLiD sequencing technology. We found tissue- and sexually dimorphic expression of several miRNAs, including miR-29a, miR-34, miR-143, miR-145, miR-202-3p, miR-451, and miR-2188. miR-9 and miR-202 were abundant in brain and gonads, respectively. In the next step,...

Active masculinization by fetal testosterone is believed to be a major factor behind sex differentiation of the brain. We tested this hypothesis in a 15O-H2O positron emission tomography study of 11 women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a condition with high fetal testosterone, and 26 controls. Two indices of cerebral dimorphism were measured--functional connectivity and cerebral act...

Male sexual differentiation in crustaceans is controlled by the androgenic gland (AG), a unique male endocrine organ that, in decapods, is located at the base of the 5th pereiopod. In these animals, the insulin-like androgenic gland hormone (IAG) is the major factor secreted from the AG to induce masculinization and maintain male characteristics. It has, however, recently been proposed that thi...

The role of prenatal androgen on the differentiation of sexually dimorphic juvenile play and adult copulatory patterns was evaluated in male offspring of rats injected with 5 mg of the androgen receptor blocker flutamide (4'-nitro-3'-trifluoromethylisobutyranilide) from Days 11-21 of pregnancy. Rough-and-tumble play was incompletely masculinized in flutamide-exposed males at 31 days of age. The...