Department of Biology and Chemistry
Evolution of Sex Change in Fishes
The lability of sex determination in fishes is truly a unique and intriguing process. Particularly, species that exhibit either sequential or simultaneous hermaphroditism present compelling cases in exploring the evolution of sex. To understand the evolution of this complex process, I am examining patterns of protein coding sequence evolution and brain and gonad-associated gene expression in Serranid fishes that exhibit gonochorism (two distinct sexes), sequential hermaphroditism (in this case,protogyny), and simultaneous hermaphroditism (e.g. “egg traders”) to describe what are the likely functional genetic mechanisms contributing to the evolution of this reproductive strategy.
