{"doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00632-0","title":"Adult sex change leads to extensive forebrain reorganization in clownfish","abstract":"BACKGROUND: Sexual differentiation of the brain occurs in all major vertebrate lineages but is not well understood at a molecular and cellular level. Unlike most vertebrates, sex-changing fishes have the remarkable ability to change reproductive sex during adulthood in response to social stimuli, offering a unique opportunity to understand mechanisms by which the nervous system can initiate and coordinate sexual differentiation. METHODS: This study explores sexual differentiation of the forebrain using single nucleus RNA-sequencing in the anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris, producing the first cellular atlas of a sex-changing brain. RESULTS: We uncover extensive sex differences in cell type-specific gene expression, relative proportions of cells, baseline neuronal excitation, and predicted inter-neuronal communication. Additionally, we identify the cholecystokinin, galanin, and estrogen systems as central molecular axes of sexual differentiation. Supported by these findings, we propose a model of sexual differentiation in the conserved vertebrate social decision-making network spanning multiple subtypes of neurons and glia, including neuronal subpopulations within the preoptic area that are positioned to regulate gonadal differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: This work deepens our understanding of sexual differentiation in the vertebrate brain and defines a rich suite of molecular and cellular pathways that differentiate during adult sex change in anemonefish.","journal":"Biology of Sex Differences","year":2024,"id":447156,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":6,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9612,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":880027,"name":"George W. Gruenhagen","orcid":"0000-0001-6713-5370","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":996869,"name":"Brianna E. Hegarty","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1265270,"name":"Abigail R. Histed","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":374258,"name":"J. Todd Streelman","orcid":"0000-0003-0057-5069","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":408872,"name":"Justin S. Rhodes","orcid":"0000-0002-4871-4331","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":374256,"name":"Zachary V. Johnson","orcid":"0000-0002-0101-6309","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":787662,"name":"Coltan G. Parker","orcid":"0000-0001-6257-2598","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":122,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:01:59.101070Z","pmid":"39044232","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}