Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) was described nearly 50 years ago. Researchers have since identified many genes that display differential expression at male-vs. female-producing temperatures. Yet, it is unclear whether these genes (1) are involved in sex determination per se, (2) are downstream effectors involved in differentiation of ovaries and testes, or (3) are thermo-sensitive but unrelated to gonad development. Here we present multiple lines of evidence linking CIRBP to sex determination in the snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina. We demonstrate significant associations between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (c63A . C) in CIRBP, transcript levels in embryonic gonads during specification of gonad fate, and sex in hatchlings from a thermal regime that produces mixed sex ratios. The A allele was induced in embryos exposed to a female-producing temperature, while expression of the C allele did not differ between female-and male-producing temperatures. In accord with this pattern of temperaturedependent, allele-specific expression, AA homozygotes were more likely to develop ovaries than AC heterozygotes, which, in turn, were more likely to develop ovaries than CC homozygotes. Multiple regression using SNPs in CIRBP and adjacent loci suggests that c63A . C may be the causal variant or closely linked to it. Differences in CIRBP allele frequencies among turtles from northern Minnesota, southern Minnesota, and Texas reflect small and large-scale latitudinal differences in TSD pattern. Finally, analysis of CIRBP protein localization reveals that CIRBP is in a position to mediate temperature effects on the developing gonads. Together, these studies strongly suggest that CIRBP is involved in determining the fate of the bipotential gonad.KEYWORDS genetics of sex; cold-inducible RNA-binding protein; temperature-dependent sex determination; genetic association S EX determination in vertebrates is divided into two broad categories, either genotypic or environmental. Genotypic sex determination (GSD) occurs at fertilization and is governed by an individual's genotype. GSD species often, but not always, display morphologically distinct sex chromosomes, as observed in mammals, birds, snakes, some lizards, and some turtles. While some GSD systems are monogenic, other GSD systems involve two or more genes (Moore and Roberts 2013; Bachtrog et al. 2014). Environmental sex determination occurs when extrinsic factors influence whether an embryo develops into a female or a male. Various abiotic and biotic factors determine sex in metazoans, but temperature is the only environmental factor known to influence sex determination in amniotes (Bull 1983;Janes et al. 2010;Merchant-Larios and Díaz-Hernández 2013). This phenomenon is referred to as temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and is observed in many lizards, numerous turtles, and all crocodilians studied to date (Ewert et al. , 2004Lang and Andrews 1994;Viets et al. 1994;Deeming 2004;Harlow 2004). However, GSD and TSD are not as distinct as ...