scholarly journals Molecular evolution of Dmrt1 accompanies change of sex-determining mechanisms in reptilia

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 20140809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Janes ◽  
Christopher L. Organ ◽  
Rami Stiglec ◽  
Denis O'Meally ◽  
Stephen D. Sarre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Molecular Evolution ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
Evolution Of Sex ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Exon 2 ◽  
Ancestral Condition ◽  
Genotypic Sex Determination

In reptiles, sex-determining mechanisms have evolved repeatedly and reversibly between genotypic and temperature-dependent sex determination. The gene Dmrt1 directs male determination in chicken (and presumably other birds), and regulates sex differentiation in animals as distantly related as fruit flies, nematodes and humans. Here, we show a consistent molecular difference in Dmrt1 between reptiles with genotypic and temperature-dependent sex determination. Among 34 non-avian reptiles, a convergently evolved pair of amino acids encoded by sequence within exon 2 near the DM-binding domain of Dmrt1 distinguishes species with either type of sex determination. We suggest that this amino acid shift accompanied the evolution of genotypic sex determination from an ancestral condition of temperature-dependent sex determination at least three times among reptiles, as evident in turtles, birds and squamates. This novel hypothesis describes the evolution of sex-determining mechanisms as turnover events accompanied by one or two small mutations.

scholarly journals Oestrogens and temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles: all is in the gonads

2004 ◽  
Vol 181 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Pieau ◽  
M Dorizzi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aromatase Activity ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Aromatase Gene ◽  
Ovarian Differentiation ◽  
Genotypic Sex Determination ◽  
Thermosensitive Period

In many species of oviparous reptiles, the first steps of gonadal sex differentiation depend on the incubation temperature of the eggs. Feminization of gonads by exogenous oestrogens at a male-producing temperature and masculinization of gonads by antioestrogens and aromatase inhibitors at a female-producing temperature have irrefutably demonstrated the involvement of oestrogens in ovarian differentiation. Nevertheless, several studies performed on the entire gonad/adrenal/mesonephros complex failed to find differences between male- and female-producing temperatures in oestrogen content, aromatase activity and aromatase gene expression during the thermosensitive period for sex determination. Thus, the key role of aromatase and oestrogens in the first steps of ovarian differentiation has been questioned, and extragonadal organs or tissues, such as adrenal, mesonephros, brain or yolk, were considered as possible targets of temperature and sources of the oestrogens acting on gonadal sex differentiation.In disagreement with this view, experiments and assays carried out on the gonads alone, i.e. separated from the adrenal/mesonephros, provide evidence that the gonads themselves respond to temperature shifts by modifying their sexual differentiation and are the site of aromatase activity and oestrogen synthesis during the thermosensitive period. Oestrogens act locally on both the cortical and the medullary part of the gonad to direct ovarian differentiation. We have concluded that there is no objective reason to search for the implication of other organs in the phenomenon of temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles. From the comparison with data obtained in other vertebrates, we propose two main directions for future research: to examine how transcription of the aromatase gene is regulated and to identify molecular and cellular targets of oestrogens in gonads during sex differentiation, in species with strict genotypic sex determination and species with temperature-dependent sex determination.

scholarly journals Bernard-Soulier Syndrome Caused by a Dinucleotide Deletion and Reading Frameshift in the Region Encoding the Glycoprotein Ibα Transmembrane Domain

Blood ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 2634-2643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vahid Afshar-Kharghan ◽  
José A. López
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Silent Mutation ◽  
Cell Surface Expression ◽  
Unaffected Individual ◽  
Exon 2 ◽  
The Third ◽  
Bernard Soulier Syndrome

We investigated the molecular genetic and biosynthetic basis of Bernard-Soulier syndrome in a severely affected white woman. Flow cytometric analysis showed a severe deficiency of glycoprotein (GP) Ib, GP IX, and GP V on the surface of her platelets. Similarly, GP Ibα was undetectable by immunoblot analysis of platelet lysates. Surprisingly, a large quantity of a 70-kD protein (which probably represents a GP Ibα degradation product) was found in the patient's plasma in much greater quantities than in the plasma of an unaffected individual. To analyze the molecular lesion responsible for the disorder, we amplified and sequenced gene segments corresponding to the entire coding regions of the GP Ibα, GP Ibβ, and GP IX genes. The patient was homozygous for a specific GP Ibα allele that contained two tandem VNTR repeats in the region encoding the macroglycopeptide (C variant) and three differences from the published GP Ibα gene sequence. Two mutations were unlikely to be involved in the disorder: the substitution of a single base (T → C) in the second nucleotide of exon 2, which is in the 5′ untranslated region of the GP Ibα transcript, and a silent mutation in the third base of the codon for Arg342 (A → G) that does not change the amino acid sequence. The third mutation was a deletion of the last two bases of the codon for Tyr492 (TAT). This mutation causes a frameshift that alters the GP Ibα amino acid sequence, beginning within its transmembrane region. The mutant polypeptide contains 81 novel amino acids and is 38 amino acids shorter than its wild-type counterpart. The new sequence changes the hydrophobic nature of the transmembrane domain and greatly decreases the net positive charge of what had been the cytoplasmic domain. The deletion mutation was introduced into the GP Ibα cDNA, alone and in combination with the 5′ mutation, and expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The deletion alone severely reduced GP Ibα expression on the cell surface. Expression was not decreased further by addition of the 5′ mutation, confirming that the deletion was the cause of the Bernard-Soulier phenotype. Stable cell lines expressing the mutant polypeptide secreted large amounts of the polypeptide into the medium, suggesting that the mutant anchors poorly in the plasma membrane. Nevertheless, a fraction of the mutant was able to associate with GP Ibβ, as demonstrated by their coimmunoprecipitation with a GP Ibβ antibody.

scholarly journals Unexpected resilience of species with temperature-dependent sex determination at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherman Silber ◽  
Jonathan H. Geisler ◽  
Minjin Bolortsetseg
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Molecular Clocks ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Hell Creek Formation ◽  
Male Preponderance ◽  
Genotypic Sex Determination

It has been suggested that climate change at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) boundary, initiated by a bolide impact or volcanic eruptions, caused species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), including dinosaurs, to go extinct because of a skewed sex ratio towards all males. To test this hypothesis, the sex-determining mechanisms (SDMs) of Cretaceous tetrapods of the Hell Creek Formation (Montana, USA) were inferred using parsimony optimizations of SDMs on a tree, including Hell Creek species and their extant relatives. Although the SDMs of non-avian dinosaurs could not be inferred, we were able to determine the SDMs of 62 species; 46 had genotypic sex determination (GSD) and 16 had TSD. The TSD hypothesis for extinctions performed poorly, predicting between 32 and 34 per cent of survivals and extinctions. Most surprisingly, of the 16 species with TSD, 14 of them survived into the Early Palaeocene. In contrast, 61 per cent of species with GSD went extinct. Possible explanations include minimal climate change at the K–Pg, or if climate change did occur, TSD species that survived had egg-laying behaviour that prevented the skewing of sex ratios, or had a sex ratio skewed towards female rather than male preponderance. Application of molecular clocks may allow the SDMs of non-avian dinosaurs to be inferred, which would be an important test of the pattern discovered here.

scholarly journals Genetic evidence for co-occurrence of chromosomal and thermal sex-determining systems in a lizard

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajkumar S Radder ◽  
Alexander E Quinn ◽  
Arthur Georges ◽  
Stephen D Sarre ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Sex Marker ◽  
Heteromorphic Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Offspring Sex ◽  
Current Classification ◽  
Genotypic Sex Determination ◽  
Incubation Temperatures ◽  
Bassiana Duperreyi

An individual's sex depends upon its genes (genotypic sex determination or GSD) in birds and mammals, but reptiles are more complex: some species have GSD whereas in others, nest temperatures determine offspring sex (temperature-dependent sex determination). Previous studies suggested that montane scincid lizards ( Bassiana duperreyi , Scincidae) possess both of these systems simultaneously: offspring sex is determined by heteromorphic sex chromosomes (XX–XY system) in most natural nests, but sex ratio shifts suggest that temperatures override chromosomal sex in cool nests to generate phenotypically male offspring even from XX eggs. We now provide direct evidence that incubation temperatures can sex-reverse genotypically female offspring, using a DNA sex marker. Application of exogenous hormone to eggs also can sex-reverse offspring (oestradiol application produces XY as well as XX females). In conjunction with recent work on a distantly related lizard taxon, our study challenges the notion of a fundamental dichotomy between genetic and thermally determined sex determination, and hence the validity of current classification schemes for sex-determining systems in reptiles.

The uptake of amino acids and peptides byStreptococcus lactis

1978 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Rice ◽  
F. H. C. Stewart ◽  
A. J. Hillier ◽  
G. R. Jago
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Apparent Size ◽  
Acid Transport ◽  
Exchange Reactions ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Streptococcus Lactis ◽  
Effects Of Ph ◽  
Size Restriction ◽  
Low Rate

SummaryPeptide and amino acid transport inStreptococcus lactiswas both energy-and temperature-dependent. Separate systems were present for the transport of amino acids, dipeptides and oligopeptides as well as for individual amino acids. Both tri- and tetra-peptides were readily transported while an apparent size restriction at the point of uptake resulted in a relatively low rate of uptake of the pentapeptide. The effects of pH, temperature and salt concentration on the uptake of amino acids and peptides were studied. Exchange reactions played a significant role in the uptake of both peptides and amino acids.

Characterization of the mouse thyrotrophin-releasing hormone receptor gene: an exon corresponds to a deletion in the rat cDNA

1993 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
S M Duthie ◽  
P L Taylor ◽  
K A Eidne
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
R Gene ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Thyrotrophin Releasing Hormone ◽  
Exon 2 ◽  
Exon 4

ABSTRACT The cloning and characterization of the mouse TRH receptor (TRH-R) gene revealed an untranslated exon (exon 1), a single intron and an upstream dinucleotide repeat sequence (d(TG)16.d(AG)21) in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR). The coding region was contained almost entirely on a second exon (exon 2), with the final amino acid and stop codon at the COOH terminus of the gene encoded by a third exon (exon 3) flanked by two introns. The 3′ UTR was contained on the remainder of exon 3 and on the final exon (exon 4). Exon 3 (228 bp) corresponds exactly to a 228 bp deletion that exists in the rat TRH-R cDNA, but not in the mouse cDNA. The mouse TRH-R cDNA encodes a protein of 393 amino acids which is 96% homologous to the rat TRH-R protein of 412 amino acids, but is 19 amino acids shorter at its COOH terminus. The coding sequence for these 19 amino acids (plus 1 extra amino acid) does exist in the mouse TRH-R gene, but the sequence is encoded by exon 4, separated from the rest of the coding region by the stop codon and 223 bp of 3′ UTR on exon 3. Splicing of exon 3 in the mouse TRH-R gene would remove the last amino acid, the stop codon and the 223 bp of 3′ UTR, allowing transcription to continue into the 3′ UTR on exon 4, which encodes the 19 extra amino acids found in the rat cDNA. This would then result in an alternative 412 amino acid version of the mouse TRH-R protein, with 95% homology to the rat TRH-R. This study focused on the structural differences in the intracellular COOH-terminal tail of the receptor, which is known to be a functionally important domain in other members of the G protein-coupled receptor family. We have also recently characterized the human TRH-R cDNA, which revealed a third variant at the COOH terminus. Comparisons between mouse, rat and human TRH-Rs show that the amino acid sequences are virtually identical. However, significant differences between these species exist at the COOH terminus, with each TRH-R having a unique form of the COOH-terminal tail, beginning at exactly the same site and encoding 1, 20 and 6 amino acids in the mouse, rat and human respectively.

scholarly journals Independent Evolution of Sex Chromosomes in Eublepharid Geckos, a Lineage with Environmental and Genotypic Sex Determination

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Pensabene ◽  
Lukáš Kratochvíl ◽  
Michail Rovatsos
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Gene Content ◽  
Gene Copy ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Evolution Of Sex ◽  
Copy Numbers ◽  
Genotypic Sex Determination ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Genomic Regions

Geckos demonstrate a remarkable variability in sex determination systems, but our limited knowledge prohibits accurate conclusions on the evolution of sex determination in this group. Eyelid geckos (Eublepharidae) are of particular interest, as they encompass species with both environmental and genotypic sex determination. We identified for the first time the X-specific gene content in the Yucatán banded gecko, Coleonyx elegans, possessing X1X1X2X2/X1X2Y multiple sex chromosomes by comparative genome coverage analysis between sexes. The X-specific gene content of Coleonyx elegans was revealed to be partially homologous to genomic regions linked to the chicken autosomes 1, 6 and 11. A qPCR-based test was applied to validate a subset of X-specific genes by comparing the difference in gene copy numbers between sexes, and to explore the homology of sex chromosomes across 11 eublepharid, two phyllodactylid and one sphaerodactylid species. Homologous sex chromosomes are shared between Coleonyx elegans and Coleonyx mitratus, two species diverged approximately 34 million years ago, but not with other tested species. As far as we know, the X-specific gene content of Coleonyx elegans / Coleonyx mitratus was never involved in the sex chromosomes of other gecko lineages, indicating that the sex chromosomes in this clade of eublepharid geckos evolved independently.

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