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Schilling-Tóth BM, Belcher SM, Knotz J, Ondrašovičová S, Bartha T, Tóth I, Zsarnovszky A, Kiss DS. Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination in Crocodilians and Climate Challenges. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:2015. [PMID: 38998126 PMCID: PMC11240705 DOI: 10.3390/ani14132015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The sex of crocodilians is determined by the temperature to which the eggs, and hence the developing embryo are exposed during critical periods of development. Temperature-dependent sex determination is a process that occurs in all crocodilians and numerous other reptile taxa. The study of artificial incubation temperatures in different species of crocodiles and alligators has determined the specific temperature ranges that result in altered sex ratios. It has also revealed the precise temperature thresholds at which an equal number of males and females are generated, as well as the specific developmental period during which the sex of the hatchlings may be shifted. This review will examine the molecular basis of the sex-determination mechanism in crocodilians elucidated during recent decades. It will focus on the many patterns and theories associated with this process. Additionally, we will examine the consequences that arise after hatching due to changes in incubation temperatures, as well as the potential benefits and dangers of a changing climate for crocodilians who display sex determination based on temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boglárka Mária Schilling-Tóth
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1078 Budapest, Hungary; (B.M.S.-T.); (J.K.); (T.B.); (I.T.); (D.S.K.)
| | - Scott M. Belcher
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA;
| | - Josefine Knotz
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1078 Budapest, Hungary; (B.M.S.-T.); (J.K.); (T.B.); (I.T.); (D.S.K.)
| | - Silvia Ondrašovičová
- Department of Biology and Physiology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, 041 81 Košice, Slovakia;
| | - Tibor Bartha
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1078 Budapest, Hungary; (B.M.S.-T.); (J.K.); (T.B.); (I.T.); (D.S.K.)
| | - István Tóth
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1078 Budapest, Hungary; (B.M.S.-T.); (J.K.); (T.B.); (I.T.); (D.S.K.)
| | - Attila Zsarnovszky
- Agribiotechnology and Precision Breeding for Food Security National Laboratory, Institute of Physiology and Nutrition, Department of Animal Physiology and Health, Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences, 7400 Kaposvár, Hungary
| | - Dávid Sándor Kiss
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1078 Budapest, Hungary; (B.M.S.-T.); (J.K.); (T.B.); (I.T.); (D.S.K.)
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Martins ACL, Vaz MA, Macedo MM, Santos RL, Galdino CAB, Wenceslau RR, Valle GR. Maternal age, paternal age, and litter size interact to affect the offspring sex ratio of German Shepherd dogs. Theriogenology 2019; 135:169-173. [DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Adolfi MC, Nakajima RT, Nóbrega RH, Schartl M. Intersex, Hermaphroditism, and Gonadal Plasticity in Vertebrates: Evolution of the Müllerian Duct and Amh/Amhr2 Signaling. Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2018; 7:149-172. [PMID: 30303691 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-020518-114955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In vertebrates, sex organs are generally specialized to perform a male or female reproductive role. Acquisition of the Müllerian duct, which gives rise to the oviduct, together with emergence of the Amh/Amhr2 system favored evolution of viviparity in jawed vertebrates. Species with high sex-specific reproductive adaptations have less potential to sex reverse, making intersex a nonfunctional condition. Teleosts, the only vertebrate group in which hermaphroditism evolved as a natural reproductive strategy, lost the Müllerian duct during evolution. They developed for gamete release complete independence from the urinary system, creating optimal anatomic and developmental preconditions for physiological sex change. The common and probably ancestral role of Amh is related to survival and proliferation of germ cells in early and adult gonads of both sexes rather than induction of Müllerian duct regression. The relationship between germ cell maintenance and sex differentiation is most evident in species in which Amh became the master male sex-determining gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateus Contar Adolfi
- Physiological Chemistry, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany;
| | - Rafael Takahiro Nakajima
- Integrative Genomics Laboratory, Department of Morphology, Institute of Bioscience of Botucatu, São Paulo State University, Botucatu, São Paulo 01049-010, Brazil;
| | - Rafael Henrique Nóbrega
- Reproductive and Molecular Biology Group, Department of Morphology, Institute of Bioscience of Botucatu, São Paulo State University, Botucatu, São Paulo 01049-010, Brazil;
| | - Manfred Schartl
- Physiological Chemistry, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany; .,Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, University Clinic Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.,Hagler Institute for Advanced Study and Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA;
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Tsakogiannis A, Manousaki T, Lagnel J, Sterioti A, Pavlidis M, Papandroulakis N, Mylonas CC, Tsigenopoulos CS. The transcriptomic signature of different sexes in two protogynous hermaphrodites: Insights into the molecular network underlying sex phenotype in fish. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3564. [PMID: 29476120 PMCID: PMC5824801 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21992-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Sex differentiation is a puzzling problem in fish due to the variety of reproductive systems and the flexibility of their sex determination mechanisms. The Sparidae, a teleost family, reflects this remarkable diversity of sexual mechanisms found in fish. Our aim was to capture the transcriptomic signature of different sexes in two protogynous hermaphrodite sparids, the common pandora Pagellus erythrinus and the red porgy Pagrus pagrus in order to shed light on the molecular network contributing to either the female or the male phenotype in these organisms. Through RNA sequencing, we investigated sex-specific differences in gene expression in both species' brains and gonads. The analysis revealed common male and female specific genes/pathways between these protogynous fish. Whereas limited sex differences found in the brain indicate a sexually plastic tissue, in contrast, the great amount of sex-biased genes observed in gonads reflects the functional divergence of the transformed tissue to either its male or female character. Α common "crew" of well-known molecular players is acting to preserve either sex identity of the gonad in these fish. Lastly, this study lays the ground for a deeper understanding of the complex process of sex differentiation in two species with an evolutionary significant reproductive system.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Tsakogiannis
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.), Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
| | - T Manousaki
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.), Heraklion, Greece
| | - J Lagnel
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.), Heraklion, Greece
| | - A Sterioti
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.), Heraklion, Greece
| | - M Pavlidis
- Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
| | - N Papandroulakis
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.), Heraklion, Greece
| | - C C Mylonas
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.), Heraklion, Greece
| | - C S Tsigenopoulos
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.), Heraklion, Greece.
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Perrin N. Random sex determination: When developmental noise tips the sex balance. Bioessays 2016; 38:1218-1226. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201600093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Perrin
- Department of Ecology & Evolution; University of Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
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Pan Q, Anderson J, Bertho S, Herpin A, Wilson C, Postlethwait JH, Schartl M, Guiguen Y. Vertebrate sex-determining genes play musical chairs. C R Biol 2016; 339:258-62. [PMID: 27291506 PMCID: PMC5393452 DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2016.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Revised: 04/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Sexual reproduction is one of the most highly conserved processes in evolution. However, the genetic and cellular mechanisms making the decision of whether the undifferentiated gonad of animal embryos develops either towards male or female are manifold and quite diverse. In vertebrates, sex-determining mechanisms range from environmental to simple or complex genetic mechanisms and different mechanisms have evolved repeatedly and independently. In species with simple genetic sex-determination, master sex-determining genes lying on sex chromosomes drive the gonadal differentiation process by switching on a developmental program, which ultimately leads to testicular or ovarian differentiation. So far, very few sex-determining genes have been identified in vertebrates and apart from mammals and birds, these genes are apparently not conserved over a larger number of related orders, families, genera, or even species. To fill this knowledge gap and to better explore genetic sex-determination, we propose a strategy (RAD-Sex) that makes use of next-generation sequencing technology to identify genetic markers that define sex-specific segments of the male or female genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaowei Pan
- Inra, Fish Physiology and Genomics Laboratory, 35042 Rennes, France
| | | | - Sylvain Bertho
- Inra, Fish Physiology and Genomics Laboratory, 35042 Rennes, France; University of Wuerzburg, Physiological Chemistry, Biocenter, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Amaury Herpin
- Inra, Fish Physiology and Genomics Laboratory, 35042 Rennes, France
| | - Catherine Wilson
- University of Oregon, Institute of Neuroscience, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | | | - Manfred Schartl
- University of Wuerzburg, Physiological Chemistry, Biocenter, 97074 Würzburg, Germany; Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, University Hospital, 97080 Würzburg, Germany; Texas Institute for Advanced Study and Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA
| | - Yann Guiguen
- Inra, Fish Physiology and Genomics Laboratory, 35042 Rennes, France.
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Santos MM, Maia LL, Nobre DM, Oliveira Neto JF, Garcia TR, Lage MCGR, de Melo MIV, Viana WS, Palhares MS, da Silva Filho JM, Santos RL, Valle GR. Sex ratio of equine offspring is affected by the ages of the mare and stallion. Theriogenology 2015; 84:1238-45. [PMID: 26234461 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2015] [Revised: 06/30/2015] [Accepted: 07/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of parental age on the sex ratio of offspring in horses. Two trials were performed. In the first trial, the data from a randomly obtained population with a 1:1 sex ratio of 59,950 Mangalarga Marchador horses born in Brazil from 1990 to 2011 were analyzed. The sex ratios of the offspring were compared among groups according to the mare and the stallion ages (from 3 to 25 years). In the first step of the analysis, the mares and stallions were grouped according to age in 5-year intervals. In the second step, the groups were based on the parental age gap at conception. In the third step, the group of the mares and stallions with similar ages from the second step was subdivided, and the different parental age subgroups that were divided into 5-year intervals were compared. In the fourth step, the sex ratio of the offspring was determined according to the ages of the mares and the stallions at conception. The second trial was based on the data from 253 horses of several breeds that were born after natural gestation into a herd from 1989 to 2010, and the offspring of groups that were younger or older than 15 years were compared. The data from both trials were analyzed using a chi-square test (P ≤ 0.01 for the first trial; and P ≤ 0.05 for the second trial) for the comparisons of the sex ratios. In the first trial, the Spearman test (P ≤ 0.01) was used to verify the correlations between the parental age and the offspring sex ratio. In the first trial, the offspring sex ratio decreased as the mare or stallion age increased, and the decrease was more marked for the mares than for the stallions. In the second trial, the mares older than 15 years had more fillies than the younger mares, but the stallion age had no effect on the sex of the offspring. The first trial, with a large number of horses, revealed the pattern of the distribution of the sex ratios of offspring according to the parental age in horses, whereas the second trial, with a more restricted number of horses, confirmed the influence of the age of the mare on the offspring sex ratio. We concluded that the parental age affected the offspring sex ratio in horses and that this effect was stronger for the mares than for the stallions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianna Machado Santos
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Lara Maia
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Daniel Magalhães Nobre
- Escola de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - José Ferraz Oliveira Neto
- Associação Brasileira dos Criadores do Cavalo Mangalarga Marchador, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Tiago Rezende Garcia
- Associação Brasileira dos Criadores do Cavalo Mangalarga Marchador, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Maria Coeli Gomes Reis Lage
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Maria Isabel Vaz de Melo
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Walmir Santos Viana
- Regimento de Cavalaria Alferes Tiradentes, Polícia Militar do Estado de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Maristela Silveira Palhares
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinária, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - José Monteiro da Silva Filho
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinária, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Renato Lima Santos
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinária, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Ribeiro Valle
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Andrade JGRD, Martins RRS, Caldas D, Brasil J, Meiriño ALA, Jung MDP. Perfil clínico de 62 casos de distúrbios da diferenciação sexual. REVISTA PAULISTA DE PEDIATRIA 2008. [DOI: 10.1590/s0103-05822008000400003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJETIVO: Descrever o perfil clínico dos casos de distúrbios da diferenciação sexual em acompanhamento no Instituto Estadual de Diabetes e Endocrinologia Luiz Capriglione, no Rio de Janeiro, nos últimos cinco anos. MÉTODOS: Revisão dos prontuários dos pacientes, com o diagnóstico de genitália ambígua em acompanhamento nos últimos cinco anos, segundo os critérios clínicos descritos por Danish, em 1982. O registro mais antigo foi feito em 1981 e o mais recente de junho de 2006. RESULTADOS: Foram encontrados 62 casos de genitália ambígua: 26 com registro do sexo feminino e 36 com registro do sexo masculino. O diagnóstico mais freqüente foi o de hiperplasia congênita de supra-renal (33,9%), seguido de quadros sindrômicos (14,5%) e disgenesias gonadais (9,7%). A média de idade ao diagnóstico foi de 7,2 anos (de zero a 42 anos). CONCLUSÕES: A ambigüidade genital não é uma doença específica, mas um conjunto de alterações que direcionam o clínico a buscar diagnósticos específicos. A freqüência dessa afecção depende dos critérios diagnósticos utilizados. A adoção de critérios amplos aumenta a chance de detecção precoce do quadro bem como de cuidado adequado a crianças com distúrbios da diferenciação sexual.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jucimar Brasil
- Instituto Estadual de Diabetes e Endocrinologia Luiz Capriglione, Brasil
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Abstract
Although contemporary methods of physically separating X from Y chromosome-bearing spermatozoa are now very efficient, overall fertility rates following the use of sex-sorted sperm are not as impressive, in spite of many attempts to improve them. At the same time, there are suggestions from evolutionary biology, and from sex allocation theory in particular, that there may need to be a modification to the chance theory of sex determination in mammals. This is because it now appears that the mammalian female could have some influence on the sex of her offspring, and furthermore, that this influence could be preconceptual. If so, this could go some way towards accounting for the putative inefficiencies in fertilization following insemination with sex-sorted sperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerie J Grant
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand.
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