this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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For those not familiar, when the dominant female clownfish dies, the dominant male changes sex.

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[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 2 points 1 month ago

This has a good rundown on the effect in it being about activated genes and even compares to similar in effects in humans but rather than being a natural effect we see how in our species the Y makes one male as a defective Y causes one to lack male characteristics and an extra functional Y will cause male characteristics. In clownfish they are all males but their biology allows for the gene to be turned off by environment. It makes me wonder about how the eggs develop and if the biology for production in present in the males or if it has to develop once the sex gene changes. https://www.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/articles/2004/ask28/