Green anole lizards are seasonal breeders, with male sexual behaviour primarily regulated by an annual increase in testosterone. Morphological, biochemical and behavioural changes associated with reproduction are activated by testosterone, generally with a greater effect in the breeding season (BS) than in the nonbreeding season (NBS). The present study investigates the possibility that differences in a steroid receptor coactivator may regulate this seasonal difference in responsiveness to testosterone. In situ hybridisation was used to examine the expression of steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) in the brains of gonadally intact male and female green anoles across breeding states. A second experiment examined gonadectomised animals with and without testosterone treatment. Gonadally intact males had more SRC-1 expressing cells in the preoptic area and larger volumes of this region as defined by these cells than females. Main effects of both sex and season (males > females and BS > NBS) were present in cell number and volume of the ventromedial hypothalamus. An interaction between sex and season suggested that high expression in BS males was driving these effects. In hormone-manipulated animals, testosterone treatment increased both the number of SRC-1 expressing cells in and volumes of the preoptic area and amygdala. These results suggest that testosterone selectively regulates SRC-1, and that this coactivator may play a role in facilitating reproductive behaviours across both sexes. However, changes in SRC-1 expression are not likely responsible for the seasonal change in responsiveness to testosterone.
Keywords: Anolis carolinensis; amygdala; preoptic area; sex difference; steroid hormone; ventromedial hypothalamus.
© 2014 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.