Steroid metabolism in gonads of turtle embryos as a function of the incubation temperature of eggs

In embryos of many reptiles, the sexual differentiation of gonads is temperature-dependent. In the turtle Emys orbicularis, all individuals become phenotypic males at 25 degrees C, whereas 100% phenotypic females are obtained at 30 degrees C. Steroid metabolism in embryonic gonads was studied at both temperatures, during and after the thermosensitive period for sexual differentiation. Pools of gonads were incubated for various times, with 3 beta-hydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one (pregnenolone), progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone or 4-androstene-3,17- dione as substrates. The analysis of metabolites combined two successive chromatographies (HPLC and TLC) and autoradiography. Conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone and of dehydroepiandrosterone to 4-androstene-3,17-dione was more important in testes at 25 degrees C than in ovaries at 30 degrees C. In ovaries, a large amount of 5-pregnene- 3 beta,20 beta-diol was formed from pregnenolone, and 5-androstene-3 beta,17 beta-diol was produced from dehydroepiandrosterone. In both testes and ovaries, 5 alpha-pregnane and 5 alpha-androstane derivatives were the main metabolites obtained from progesterone and 4-androstene-3,17-dione, respectively. Progesterone was also converted to 20 beta-hydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one. Dehydroepiandrosterone and 4-androstene-3,17-dione were also metabolized into 11 beta-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione (only in testes), testosterone, 11 beta,17 beta-dihydroxy-4-androstene-3-one, 17 beta-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,11-dione (low amounts in testes, traces in ovaries), 17 alpha-hydroxy-4-androstene-3-one, estrone and estradiol-17 beta (traces).     

Aromatase activity in gonads of turtle embryos as a function of the incubation temperature of eggs

In embryos of the European pond turtle, sexual differentiation of gonads is temperature-dependent. Production of oestrogens appears to play a key role in this phenomenon. Gonadal aromatase activity was measured in embryos incubated at 25°C (masculinizing temperature) and at 30°C (feminizing temperature). At the beginning of the thermosensitive period, the aromatase activity was low at both temperatures but was somewhat higher at 30 than at 25°C. Afterwards, it remained low in differentiating testes at 25°C, whereas it increased in differentiating ovaries at 30°C to form a marked peak when germ cells underwent meiotic prophase. Eggs were shifted either from 25 to 30°C (highly feminizing) or from 30 to 35°C for 6 days at different stages of embryonic development. The 25–35°C shifts performed during the thermosensitive period strongly increased the aromatase activity but were ineffective after this period. The 30–35°C shifts increased the aromatase activity at all stages. Altogether, results indicate that, in differentiating gonads of turtle embryos, temperature acts on the regulation of synthesis (and therefore activity) of cytochrome P-450 aromatase (P-450-aro). The expression of the P-450-aro gene itself could be temperature-dependent. However, temperature could also act upon the expression of another gene involved in P-450-aro regulation.     

Human sex ratio as a function of the timing of insemination within the menstrual cycle: a review

A review of the beliefs and research results on the influence of the time of insemination on the sex ratio is presented. The ancient Greek notion that more males were produced by early postmenstrual insemination was supported as late as the early 1900s, although, by then, that belief was not uncontested. The view soon changed to the one of Dechman in which midcycle insemination favored the birth of males because of the deterioration of the ovum and other dominance/submission arguments. There were also some 20th century writers who recommended premenstrual insemination for producing male offspring. More recent thinking, taking advantage of new knowledge in reproductive physiology, holds that insemination immediately prior to ovulation favors males, whereas earlier insemination favors females. Artifical insemination of women 3 or more days before ovulation has been reported to result in an excess of females, while natural insemination during the same time-frame produced an excess of males. More clinical research, utilizing a uniform methodology for determining the time of ovulation, is needed to elucidate the relationship between the date of insemination, menstrual-cycle day, and sex outcome to the sex ratio. Possible causes for natural variations in the sex ratio should also be investigated.     

The dissimilar costs of love and war: age-specific mortality as a function of the operational sex ratio

Lifespan and ageing are strongly affected by many environmental factors, but the effects of social environment on these life-history traits are not well understood. We examined effects of social interaction on age-specific mortality rate in the sexually dimorphic neriid fly Telostylinus angusticollis. We found that although interaction with other individuals reduced longevity of both sexes, the costs associated with variation in operational sex ratio were sex specific: males' early-life mortality rate increased, and lifespan decreased, with increasing male bias in the sex ratio, whereas surprisingly, the presence of males had no effect on early-life mortality or lifespan of females. Intriguingly, early-life (immediate) mortality costs did not covary with late-life (latent) costs. Rather, both sexes aged most rapidly in a social environment dominated by the opposite sex. Our findings suggest that distinct reproductive activities, such as mating and fighting, impose different age-specific patterns of mortality, and that such costs are strongly sex specific.     

Spatio-temporal variation in the incubation duration and sex ratio of hawksbill hatchlings: Implication for future management

Climate change poses a unique threat to species with temperature dependent sex determination (TSD), such as marine turtles, where increases in temperature can result in extreme sex ratio biases. Knowledge of the primary sex ratio of populations with TSD is key for providing a baseline to inform management strategies and to accurately predict how future climate changes may affect turtle populations. However, there is a lack of robust data on offspring sex ratio at appropriate temporal and spatial scales to inform management decisions. To address this, we estimate the primary sex ratio of hawksbill hatchlings, Eretmochelys imbricata, from incubation duration of 5514 in situ nests from 10 nesting beaches from two regions in Brazil over the last 27 years. A strong female bias was estimated in all beaches, with 96% and 89% average female sex ratios produced in Bahia (BA) and Rio Grande do Norte (RN). Both inter-annual (BA, 88 to 99%; RN, 75 to 96% female) and inter-beach (BA, 92% to 97%; RN, 81% to 92% female) variability in mean offspring sex ratio was observed. These findings will guide management decisions in Brazil and provide further evidence of highly female-skew sex ratios in hawksbill turtles.     

Temperature-dependent sex ratio in a bird

To our knowledge, there is, so far, no evidence that incubation temperature can affect sex ratios in birds, although this is common in reptiles. Here, we show that incubation temperature does affect sex ratios in megapodes, which are exceptional among birds because they use environmental heat sources for incubation. In the Australian brush-turkey Alectura lathami, a mound-building megapode, more males hatch at low incubation temperatures and more females hatch at high temperatures, whereas the proportion is 1:1 at the average temperature found in natural mounds. Chicks from lower temperatures weigh less, which probably affects offspring survival, but are not smaller. Megapodes possess heteromorphic sex chromosomes like other birds, which eliminates temperature-dependent sex determination, as described for reptiles, as the mechanism behind the skewed sex ratios at high and low temperatures. Instead, our data suggest a sex-biased temperature-sensitive embryo mortality because mortality was greater at the lower and higher temperatures, and minimal at the middle temperature where the sex ratio was 1:1.     

Calving sex ratio as related to the predicted Y-chromosome-bearing spermatozoa ratio in bull ejaculates

The first objective was to correlate calving sex-ratio data from semen lots with the semen sex ratio obtained by two duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/gel electrophoresis techniques. The two techniques involved different starting DNA amounts, PCR conditions, agarose gel concentrations, sample placement on the gels, lane size, number of lanes per gel, and duration of electrophoresis. The second objective was to sequence the duplex PCR products to verify their match to genes and chromosomes for which they were designed. Thirty-six ejaculates (lots) from eight Holstein sires were collected. Semen straws were distributed among dairies in three states. Ten straws per lot were used for the different PCR techniques. Sperm DNA was extracted and PCR analysis was done using one primer set to amplify a single copy section of the factor IX precursor (X-chromosome only) and another primer set to amplify a single copy section the sex determining region (Y-chromosome only). The glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase gene was amplified as an internal control. Standard curves were designed using PCR products in known ratios. Gel electrophoresis and image analysis were used to determine predicted %Y-chromosome-bearing spermatozoa (PredPtY). Sex (male=1, female=0) was reported on 526 calves and the ratio of the number of male to total calves (proportion of male calves (PMC)) was determined between sire and lot within sire. The PredPtY and PMC were significantly correlated (r=0.82, P<0.0002). No significant variance between sires was found in PredPtY or PMC, but lots within sires was a significant variance source for both. The two PCR technologies adequately determined semen sex ratio. The technology-by-lot-within-sire interaction was a significant variance source for PredPtY. Acrosomal integrity (after a 2-h) incubation, was correlated with both PMC and PredPtY; other semen quality characteristics had no significant correlations with PMC or PredPtY. Therefore, calf crop sex ratio skewness could be controlled by screening semen for PredPtY through the use of PCR.     

不同饲养温度对半闭弯尾姬蜂性比及羽化的影响

本文在室内研究了不同化蛹温度及羽化温度对半闭弯尾姬蜂Diadegma semiclausum Hellén自然种群性比及羽化规律的影响,试验共设4种处理,A:化蛹温度25℃,羽化温度25℃;B:化蛹温度25℃,羽化温度22℃;C:化蛹温度22℃,羽化温度25℃;D:化蛹温度22℃,羽化温度22℃。结果表明:(1)A处理条件下,雌、雄蜂的羽化历期为4 d(4⁷ d),羽化高峰期均为化蛹后第5天,羽化率分别为11.5%、12.5%。(2)B处理条件下,羽化历期为5 d(57 d),羽化高峰期均为化蛹后第5天,羽化率分别为11.5%、12.5%。(2)B处理条件下,羽化历期为5 d(5⁹ d),羽化高峰期均为化蛹后第7天,羽化率分别为11.5%、10.5%。(3)C处理条件下,羽化历期为3d(79 d),羽化高峰期均为化蛹后第7天,羽化率分别为11.5%、10.5%。(3)C处理条件下,羽化历期为3d(7⁹ d),雌蜂羽化高峰期为化蛹后第79 d),雌蜂羽化高峰期为化蛹后第7⁸天,羽化率为9.2%,雄蜂羽化高峰期为化蛹后第8天,羽化率为11.4%。(4)D处理条件下,羽化历期为4 d(98天,羽化率为9.2%,雄蜂羽化高峰期为化蛹后第8天,羽化率为11.4%。(4)D处理条件下,羽化历期为4 d(9¹2 d),羽化高峰期均为化蛹后第10天,羽化率分别为13.5%、13.9%。(5)A、B、C、D处理条件下性比(♀/总数)分别为0.41、0.39、0.82和0.76。在4个处理温度组合中,22℃条件下化蛹的蜂蛹性比要高于25℃,在5%水平上差异显著(P<0.05),但在化蛹温度相同时,不同羽化温度处理间差异不显著。(6)化蛹温度为25℃和22℃时,性比分别为0.40±0.07、0.79±0.05;羽化温度为25℃和22℃时,性比分别为0.59±0.11、0.56±0.07。方差分析结果表明化蛹温度22℃与25℃处理间在1%水平和5%水平均存在着显著性差异(P<0.01,P<0.05)。⑺多元回归分析结果表明,性比(Y)、化蛹温度X1、羽化温度X2间的线性关系为Y=3.324-0.128X1+0.012X2(R2=0.753,F=9.975,P<0.01)。研究表明,相对于25℃而言,22℃左右更适合半闭弯尾姬蜂的室内扩繁。     

Paternal inheritance of the primary sex ratio in a copepod

Uniparentally inherited genetic elements are under strong selection to manipulate sex determination in their host and shift the host sex ratio towards the transmitting sex. For any sex-ratio trait, lineage analysis and quantitative genetics are important tools for characterizing the mode of inheritance (biparental vs. maternal vs. paternal) thereby narrowing the field of possible sex-determining mechanisms (e.g. polygenic, sex chromosomes with meiotic drive, cytoplasmic microorganisms). The primary sex ratio of the harpacticoid copepod, Tigriopus californicus is often male-biased and is highly variable among full sib families. We found that this extra-binomial variation for the primary sex ratio is paternally but not maternally transmitted in T. californicus. Paternal transmission of the primary sex ratio has been well documented in the haplo-diploid hymenoptera but is relatively rare in diplo-diploid organisms. If the sex-ratio trait is paternally transmitted in other closely related harpacticoid copepods it would explain why male biased primary sex ratios are so common in this group.     

Androgynous rex - the utility of chevrons for determining the sex of crocodilians and non-avian dinosaurs

The sex of non-avian dinosaurs has been inferred on numerous occasions using a variety of anatomical criteria, but the efficacy of none has been proven. Nearly 50 years ago Romer suggested that the cranial-most or first chevron in the tails of some reptiles, including crocodilians, is sexually dimorphic. Recent work on this subject purportedly substantiated that the female first chevron articulates in a more caudal position than in males. Furthermore, it was concluded that this element is shorter in females. These phenotypic attributes theoretically provide a broader cloacal passageway for eggs by ovipositing females and a greater attachment area for male “penile retractor muscles”. Because theropod dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex presumably show similar variation in chevron anatomy, the same criteria has been advocated for sexing dinosaurs. We tested the neontological model for the chevron sexual dimorphism hypothesis using a skeletonized growth series of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) of known sex. No statistical support for the hypothesis was found. Furthermore, analysis of a diversity of crocodilian taxa from museum collections revealed similar findings suggesting the alligator results are not taxon specific. Study of well-preserved tyrannosaurid dinosaurs in museum collections showed nearly invariant chevron positioning like that seen in crocodilians. This suggests the usefulness of chevron anatomy for sexing dinosaurs is tenuous.     

Seasonal sex ratio and unbalanced investment sex ratio in the Banksia bee Hylaeus alcyoneus

Abstract 1. Hylaeus alcyoneus is an endemic solitary bee common on coastal heaths of Western Australia. The bee is unusual in that males are larger than females. This size dimorphism presents an opportunity to test the theory of resource-dependent sex allocation, in which theory predicts that when resources are low the sex ratio should be biased towards the smaller sex. In most bees, females are larger than males and, in line with theoretical prediction, sex ratios are male biased when resources are scarce.
2. The emerging sex ratio and brood mass from a natural population of H. alcyoneus using trap nests was studied over two seasons (1999, 2000). A switch from a male- to a female-biased sex ratio through the season was found, which was related to a reduced floral resource.
3. Fisherian sex ratio theory predicts that total investment in each sex throughout a season should be equal and that the sex ratio should be biased towards the smaller sex. By measuring the mass of the emerging progeny, the total investment was found to favour males. Possible explanations for this bias in investment are discussed.     

Soil temperature in a sugar-cane crop as a function of the management system

Air and soil temperatures are, by far, the most important state variables of agroecosystems. In the case of sugar-cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) they affect plant development, maturation and a series of biological and physical-chemical soil processes. This paper presents a comparative study of three management practices, applied to the first ratoon of a sugar-cane crop established on a Rhodic Kandiudox (Terra Roxa Estruturada) of Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. The management practices are: (i) interrow with bare soil; (ii) trash mulching, maintaining harvest residues (straw+tips) on the soil; (iii) soil with residues from burning the prior crop. Soil temperature was measured with digital stick thermometers driven into the soil down to the depths of 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09 m, meter by meter, close to the crop row, along an 84-point transect that covered all treatments and borders. The measurements were performed from November 1998 (right after the first harvest of the planted cane) to June 1999. The effects of the treatments on soil temperature were, evidently, more prominent in the period November/February when the plants had a smaller height, not closing interrows. Data that were collected on typical days, chosen along the development cycle of the crop, always from 11:00 to 12:00 a.m., show significant differences, mainly between mulched and non mulched treatments, reaching values as high as 7 °C for the average of the three depths. A comparative analysis is made between treatments and their effects are discussed in relation to the sugar-cane crop.     

Gonadal sex differentiation and effect of rearing temperature on sex ratio in black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli)

Temperature-dependent sex determination has been demonstrated in some species of fish, and a high temperature during the period of sex differentiation typically produces a male-dominant population. This research investigated the gonadal sex differentiation and effect of rearing temperature on the sex ratio in larval black rockfish Sebastes schlegeli, which is a viviparous species. Two types of gonads were histologically distinguishable in fish 20 mm in total length (TL). The putative ovary started forming an ovarian cavity, while the putative testis was not clearly differentiated until 51 mm TL. In a temperature-controlled experiment, the proportions of females were 45% at 10°C, 46% at 14°C, 50% at 18°C, 63% at 22°C, and 83% (significantly different from 1:1 sex ratio) at 24°C. These results suggest that morphological sex differentiation in black rockfish occurs at approximately 20 mm in TL, and it is possible that high temperatures (24°C) induce not a male- but a female-dominant population in this species.