Abstract
The expression of shared behaviors can exhibit sexual dimorphism, which is often mediated by neuronal sex. However, the role of behavioral entrainment by environmental conditions as a function of underlying sex has been less studied. Here, we demonstrate that Caenorhabditis elegans males are more resistant to long-term hypoxic injury than hermaphrodites and that their locomotory speed exhibits reduced sensitivity to acute changes in oxygen. Using cell-specific sex reversal, we investigated whether neuronal biological sex influences oxygen-dependent locomotory behavior. These data suggest that the overexpression of sex determination pathway components can modify hypoxic behavioral responses independently of underlying biological sex.