There are some species of fish where their sex is not clearly fixed Photo: Dr Shahrbanou Hosseini
There are some species of fish where their sex is not clearly fixed Photo: Dr Shahrbanou Hosseini - Research team led by Göttingen University identify DNA -hotspots- that tell zebrafish to change sex in warmer waters. Environment leaves its mark on genome through DNA methylation. In many species, such as zebrafish, sex is partly or completely determined by the environment. Genes can predispose to a particular sex but may be -overruled- by the influence of the environment, for example temperature or population density. However, the mechanisms are not fully understood. Now, a research team led by the University of Göttingen has identified the DNA -hotspots- that tell zebrafish to change sex in warmer waters. These 'epigenetic' changes can then reroute genetic pathways, so that the embryos change sex.
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