Hormones produced by gonochronic gonads control differentiation and secondary gender characteristics in most vertebrates including humans. The current paradigm in dimorphic crustaceans is that the presence and absence of androgenic gland and androgenic gland hormone determine differentiation and development of males and females, respectively. This investigator has found that a novel crustacean female protein hormone from the eyestalk ganglia of female blue crab Callinectes sapidus is required for female-specific secondary traits. This team of investigators aim to test whether this novel female hormone plays an integral role in differentiation by determining the fate of androgenic gland anlage at early development and maintaining the gonochronic gonads that exhibit plasticity in crustaceans. This research will 1) establish the female hormone expression and concentration during the development of C. sapidus from embryogenesis to adults (both females and males); 2) determine the critical timing of appearance of functional androgenic gland by examining the expression of insulin-like androgenic gland factor; 3) identify specific target tissue sites of female hormones in females and males; and, 4) examine the function of female hormone in differentiation and development of secondary traits using RNA interference techniques, biochemical gain-of-function, and androgenic gland implant experiments. The strength and a novel aspect of this project is the usage of an experimental model animal, C. sapidus in which the history and precise life stages are known, as they are raised in the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology?s blue crab hatchery (Baltimore, MD). This study will contribute and advance in the fundamental understanding of the hormonal mechanism of differentiation and development of secondary traits in crustaceans, which continue to be of importance because of abundance and biodiversity of Phylum Arthropoda. A post-doctoral researcher, minority undergraduates and K-12 teachers will participate in this project. Ten high school students from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Baltimore City) will partake in a five-day Summer Marine Science Camp (2013 and 2015) and study the effect of environmental factors on the health and growth of living animals (the blue crab as a model animal) in the Chesapeake Bay. The data will be disseminated through scientific and public media.
