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Loveland, J.L.* ; Zemella, A.* ; Jovanović, V.M.* ; Möller, G. ; Sager, C.P.* ; Bastos, B.* ; Dyar, K.A. ; Fusani, L.* ; Gahr, M.* ; Giraldo-Deck, L.M.* ; Goymann, W.* ; Lank, D.B.* ; Tokarz, J. ; Nowick, K.* ; Küpper, C.*

A single gene orchestrates androgen variation underlying male mating morphs in ruffs.

Science 387, 406-412 (2025)
DOI PMC
Closed: Publ. Version/Full Text online available 03/2026
Androgens are pleiotropic and play pivotal roles in the formation and variation of sexual phenotypes. We show that differences in circulating androgens between the three male mating morphs in ruff sandpipers are linked to 17-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 (HSD17B2), encoded by a gene within the supergene that determines the morphs. Low-testosterone males had higher HSD17B2 expression in blood than high-testosterone males, as well as in brain areas related to social behaviors and testosterone production. Derived HSD17B2 isozymes, which are absent in high-testosterone males but preferentially expressed in low-testosterone males, converted testosterone to androstenedione faster than the ancestral isozyme. Thus, a combination of evolutionary changes in regulation, sequence, and structure of a single gene introduces endocrine variation underlying reproductive phenotypes.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Social-behavior Network; Hormonal Pleiotropy; Japanese-quail; Messenger-rna; Male Traits; Testosterone; System; Brain; Evolution; Performance
Language english
Publication Year 2025
HGF-reported in Year 2025
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0036-8075
e-ISSN 1095-9203
Journal Science
Quellenangaben Volume: 387, Issue: 6732, Pages: 406-412 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publishing Place 1200 New York Ave, Nw, Washington, Dc 20005 Usa
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Diabetes and Cancer (IDC)
POF-Topic(s) 30201 - Metabolic Health
Research field(s) Helmholtz Diabetes Center
PSP Element(s) G-502594-001
Grants Max Planck Society
National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
German Research Foundation (DFG)
DOI 10.1126/science.adp5936
WOS ID 001496574700031
Scopus ID 85216717941
PubMed ID 39847616
Erfassungsdatum 2025-03-24
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