scholarly journals With or Without W? Molecular and Cytogenetic Markers are Not Sufficient for Identification of Environmentally-Induced Sex Reversal in the Bearded Dragon

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jan Ehl ◽  
Marie Altmanová ◽  
Lukáš Kratochvíl
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Sex Reversal ◽  
Intermediate Step ◽  
Crossing Experiment ◽  
Bearded Dragon ◽  
Genotypic Sex Determination ◽  
Pogona Vitticeps ◽  
Incubation Temperatures

Transitions from environmental sex determination (ESD) to genotypic sex determination (GSD) require an intermediate step of sex reversal, i.e., the production of individuals with a mismatch between the ancestral genotypic and the phenotypic sex. Among amniotes, the sole well-documented transition in this direction was shown in the laboratory in the central bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps, where very high incubation temperatures led to the production of females with the male-typical (ZZ) genotype. These sex-reversed females then produced offspring whose sex depended on the incubation temperature. Sex-reversed animals identified by molecular and cytogenetic markers were also reported in the field, and their increasing incidence was speculated as a climate warming-driven transition in sex determination. We show that the molecular and cytogenetic markers normally sex-linked in P. vitticeps are also sex-linked in P. henrylawsoni and P. minor, which points to quite ancient sex chromosomes in this lineage. Nevertheless, we demonstrate, based on a crossing experiment with a male bearded dragon who possesses a mismatch between phenotypic sex and genotype, that the used cytogenetic and molecular markers might not be reliable for the identification of sex reversal. Sex reversal should not be considered as the only mechanism causing a mismatch between genetic sex-linked markers and phenotypic sex, which can emerge also by other processes, here most likely by a rare recombination between regions of sex chromosomes which are normally sex-linked. We warn that sex-linked, even apparently for a long evolutionary time, and sex-specific molecular and cytogenetic markers are not a reliable tool for the identification of sex-reversed individuals in a population and that sex reversal has to be verified by other approaches, particularly by observation of the sex ratio of the progeny.

scholarly journals Developmental dynamics of sex reprogramming by high incubation temperatures in a dragon lizard

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L Whiteley ◽  
Clare E Holleley ◽  
Arthur Georges
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Sex Reversal ◽  
Transcriptional Level ◽  
Vertebrate Species ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Bearded Dragon ◽  
Pogona Vitticeps ◽  
Incubation Temperatures ◽  
Developmental Dynamics ◽  
Male To Female

In some vertebrate species, gene-environment interactions can determine sex, driving bipotential gonads to differentiate into either ovaries or testes. In the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), the genetic influence of sex chromosomes (ZZ/ZW) can be overridden by high incubation temperatures, causing ZZ male to female sex reversal. Previous research showed ovotestes, a rare gonadal phenotype with traits of both sexes, develop during sex reversal, leading to the hypothesis that sex reversal relies on high temperature feminisation to outcompete the male genetic cue. To test this, we conducted temperature switching experiments at key developmental stages, and analysed the effect on gonadal phenotypes using histology and transcriptomics. We found sexual fate is more strongly influenced by the ZZ genotype than temperature. Any exposure to low temperatures (28oC) caused testes differentiation, whereas sex reversal required longer exposure to high temperatures. We revealed ovotestes exist along a spectrum of female-ness to male-ness at the transcriptional level. We found inter-individual variation in gene expression changes following temperature switches, suggesting both genetic sensitivity to, and the timing and duration of the temperature cue influences sex reversal. These findings bring new insights to the mechanisms underlying sex reversal, improving our understanding of thermosensitive sex systems in vertebrates.

scholarly journals Cytogenetic Analysis of the Asian Box Turtles of the Genus Cuora (Testudines, Geoemydidae)

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Clemente ◽  
Sofia Mazzoleni ◽  
Eleonora Pensabene ◽  
Tomáš Protiva ◽  
Philipp Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Telomeric Repeats ◽  
Rdna Loci ◽  
Box Turtles ◽  
Genotypic Sex Determination ◽  
Poorly Differentiated ◽  
Almost All

The Asian box turtle genus Cuora currently comprises 13 species with a wide distribution in Southeast Asia, including China and the islands of Indonesia and Philippines. The populations of these species are rapidly declining due to human pressure, including pollution, habitat loss, and harvesting for food consumption. Notably, the IUCN Red List identifies almost all species of the genus Cuora as Endangered (EN) or Critically Endangered (CR). In this study, we explore the karyotypes of 10 Cuora species with conventional (Giemsa staining, C-banding, karyogram reconstruction) and molecular cytogenetic methods (in situ hybridization with probes for rDNA loci and telomeric repeats). Our study reveals a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 52 chromosomes in all studied species, with karyotypes of similar chromosomal morphology. In all examined species, rDNA loci are detected at a single medium-sized chromosome pair and the telomeric repeats are restricted to the expected terminal position across all chromosomes. In contrast to a previous report, sex chromosomes are neither detected in Cuoragalbinifrons nor in any other species. Therefore, we assume that these turtles have either environmental sex determination or genotypic sex determination with poorly differentiated sex chromosomes. The conservation of genome organization could explain the numerous observed cases of interspecific hybridization both within the genus Cuora and across geoemydid turtles.

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.

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.

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

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 342
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 eleven 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.

Role of reductase and aromatase in sex determination in the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta), a turtle with temperature-dependent sex determination

1994 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Crews ◽  
J M Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Aromatase Inhibitors ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Combined Treatment ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Male Offspring ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Slider Turtle ◽  
Dose Dependent Fashion ◽  
Incubation Temperatures

Abstract In many turtles the temperature during the middle of incubation determines the gonadal sex of the hatchling. In the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta), an incubation temperature of 26 °C results in all male offspring, whereas an incubation temperature of 31 °C results in all female offspring; at temperatures intermediate to these (e.g. 29, 29·2, 29·4 °C) a mixed sex ratio is obtained. Administration of exogenous oestrogens will overcome the effects of an all-male producing incubation temperature to cause female sex determination, whereas administration of exogenous dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or testosterone to eggs incubating at an all-female temperature will have no discernible effect. Administration of DHT will cause male sex determination only if administered at intermediate incubation temperatures whereas administration of testosterone to eggs incubating at all male-producing and male-biased intermediate temperatures results in a significant number of female offspring, an effect presumably due to aromatization of testosterone to oestradiol (OE2), Since testosterone serves as the precursor to both DHT and OE2, being metabolized by reductase and aromatase respectively, three experiments were conducted to determine whether various putative reductase and aromatase inhibitors would overcome the effect of incubation temperature. First, while administration of testosterone to eggs incubating at all male-producing and male-biased intermediate temperatures produced females in a dose- and temperature-dependent manner, significant numbers of intersex individuals resulted from high dosage testosterone treatment to eggs incubating at a female-biased intermediate temperature. The reductase inhibitors 4MA and MK906 were capable of producing female offspring if administered at intermediate temperatures, but not in a dose-dependent fashion. Administration of the aromatase inhibitors CGS16949A and CGS20267 resulted in male offspring at both female-biased intermediate and at all female-producing temperatures in a dose-dependent fashion. Second, similar findings were obtained with combined doses of testosterone and reductase or aromatase inhibitors. Combined treatment of eggs at male-biased intermediate incubation temperatures with testosterone and reductase inhibitor resulted in female hatchlings, whereas combined treatment of testosterone and aromatase inhibitor at both female-biased intermediate and at all female-producing temperatures resulted in male hatchlings. Finally, treatment with reductase inhibitor and aromatase inhibitor combined resulted in only male offspring at all incubation temperatures with the exception of the all-female incubation temperature; in the latter instance almost all offspring were female. These studies indicate that in the red-eared slider turtle (i) male and female sex determination are independent cascades residing equally in each individual and regulated by incubation temperature, (ii) steroid hormones are involved in temperature-dependent sex determination, and (iii) testosterone plays a pivotal role in this process. The data also suggest that aromatase and oestrogen receptors may be involved in the initiation of an ovary determining cascade and that reductase and androgen receptors may be involved in the initiation of a testis determining cascade. Journal of Endocrinology (1994) 143, 279–289

scholarly journals The behavioural consequences of sex reversal in dragons

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1832) ◽  
pp. 20160217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Li ◽  
Clare E. Holleley ◽  
Melanie Elphick ◽  
Arthur Georges ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Natural Populations ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Sex Reversal ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
General Behaviour ◽  
Thermally Induced ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Pogona Vitticeps ◽  
Incubation Temperatures

Sex differences in morphology, physiology, and behaviour are caused by sex-linked genes, as well as by circulating sex-steroid levels. Thus, a shift from genotypic to environmental sex determination may create an organism that exhibits a mixture of male-like and female-like traits. We studied a lizard species (Central Bearded Dragon, Pogona vitticeps ), in which the high-temperature incubation of eggs transforms genetically male individuals into functional females. Although they are reproductively female, sex-reversed dragons (individuals with ZZ genotype reversed to female phenotype) resemble genetic males rather than females in morphology (relative tail length), general behaviour (boldness and activity level), and thermoregulatory tactics. Indeed, sex-reversed ‘females’ are more male-like in some behavioural traits than are genetic males. This novel phenotype may impose strong selection on the frequency of sex reversal within natural populations, facilitating rapid shifts in sex-determining systems. A single period of high incubation temperatures (generating thermally induced sex reversal) can produce functionally female individuals with male-like (or novel) traits that enhance individual fitness, allowing the new temperature-dependent sex-determining system to rapidly replace the previous genetically based one.

Hatchling Sex Ratios are Independent of Temperature in Field Nests of the Long-necked Turtle, Chelodina longicollis (Testudinata : Chelidae)

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Palmer-Allen ◽  
F Beynon ◽  
a Georges
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Constant Temperature ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Seasonal Trend ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Sharp Drop ◽  
Heteromorphic Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Chelodina Longicollis ◽  
Incubation Temperatures

Eastern long-necked turtles, Chelodina longicollis, are known to lack heteromorphic sex chromosomes and to lack temperature-dependent sex determination when incubated under constant conditions. This study determined whether sex ratios of hatchlings emerging from natural nests of C. longicollis were different from that expected from constant temperature experiments. Temperatures in the eight nests monitored varied considerably each day (by 1.7-12.6�C), with eggs at the top of the nest experiencing the greatest variation (mean range 9.0�C) and eggs at the bottom experiencing least variation (mean range 5.3�C). Temperatures experienced by the top and bottom eggs differed by as much as 5.7�C at any one time. No monotonic seasonal trend was evident, but rainfall caused a sharp drop in nest temperatures. Sex ratios in hatchlings from 14 field nests of C. longicollis did not differ significantly from 1:1, a result in agreement with previous studies conducted at constant incubation temperatures in the laboratory.

scholarly journals Proto-sex locus in large yellow croaker provides insights into early evolution of the sex chromosome

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Wang ◽  
Shijun Xiao ◽  
Mingyi Cai ◽  
Zhaofang Han ◽  
Wanbo Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Draft Genome ◽  
Sex Reversal ◽  
Large Yellow Croaker ◽  
Larimichthys Crocea ◽  
Suppressed Recombination ◽  
Heterogametic Sex ◽  
Sex Locus

AbstractAutosomal origins of heterogametic sex chromosomes have been inferred frequently from suppressed recombination and gene degeneration manifested in incompletely differentiated sex chromosomes. However, the initial transition of an autosome region to a proto-sex locus has been not explored in depth. By assembling and analyzing a chromosome-level draft genome, we found a recent (evolved 0.26 million years ago), highly homologous, and dmrt1 containing sex-determination locus with slightly reduced recombination in large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), a teleost species with genetic sex determination (GSD) and with undifferentiated sex chromosomes. We observed genomic homology and polymorphic segregation of the proto-sex locus between sexes. Expression of dmrt1 showed a stepwise increase in the development of testis, but not in the ovary. We infer that the inception of the proto-sex locus involves a few divergences in nucleotide sequences and slight suppression of recombination in an autosome region. In androgen-induced sex reversal of genetic females, in addition to dmrt1, genes in the conserved dmrt1 cluster, and the rest of the sex determination network were activated. We provided evidence that broad functional links were shared by genetic sex determination and environmental sex reversal.

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