Concepts of Genetic and Hormonal Induction of Vertebrate Sexual Differentiation in the Twentieth Century, with Special Reference to the Brain

Arnold, Arthur P.

doi:10.1016/b978-012532104-4/50065-2

Cited by 59 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 217 publications

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“…The observation that androgen deposition in the eggs varies with position in the laying sequence, and that these patterns of variation change across species, corroborates the idea that egg androgen concentrations are strategically modulated by females (Groothuis et al, 2005;von Engelhardt and Groothuis, 2011). Second, androgens are of pivotal importance to regulation of embryo differentiation and development of physiological and behavioural traits (Arnold, 2002;Groothuis and Schwabl, 2008;Pfannkuche et al, 2011). Third, androgens are drivers of sexual phenotypic differentiation, and can therefore participate in strategies of maternal sex allocation (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Parolini

Romanò

Possenti

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Hormone-mediated maternal effects generate variation in offspring phenotype. In birds, maternal egg testosterone (T) exerts differential effects on offspring traits after hatching, suggesting that mothers experience a trade-off between contrasting T effects. However, there is very little information on T pre-natal effects. In the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), we increased yolk T concentration within physiological limits and measured the effects on development and oxidative status of late-stage embryos. T-treated embryos had a larger body size but a smaller brain than controls. Males had a larger brain than females, controlling for overall size. T treatment differentially affected brain mass and total amount of pro-oxidants in the brain depending on laying order. T-treatment effects were not sex dependent. For the first time in the wild, we show contrasting T prenatal effects on body mass and brain size. Hence, T may enforce trade-offs between different embryonic traits, but also within the same trait during different developmental periods.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Parolini

Romanò

Possenti

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Thus, the discrepancy between studies on effects of maternal hormones and those addressing sexual differentiation may be explained by dose alone. Moreover, in the zebra finch, exposure to androgens during early development does influence, but not disrupt, sexual differentiation of the song system (Arnold 2002). This could suggest maternal modification of, rather than interference with, the development of this sexually dimorphic system.…”

Section: Precocial Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For two reasons, steroids may provide powerful maternal signals for adaptive modifications of offspring development in response to the environmental conditions experienced by the mother. They are integral regulatory signals in the cascade of programmed processes of development and differentiation that leads from genotype to phenotype (Arnold 2002). At the same time, these very same steroids are integral mediators of phenotypic responses by adults to environmental cues and change.…”

Section: Introduction (A)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hormone-mediated maternal effects in birds:mechanismsmatter but what do we know of them?

Groothuis

Schwabl

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

409

426

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Over the past decade, birds have proven to be excellent models to study hormone-mediated maternal effects in an evolutionary framework. Almost all these studies focus on the function of maternal steroid hormones for offspring development, but lack of knowledge about the underlying mechanisms hampers further progress. We discuss several hypotheses concerning these mechanisms, point out their relevance for ecological and evolutionary interpretations, and review the relevant data. We first examine whether maternal hormones can accumulate in the egg independently of changes in hormone concentrations in the maternal circulation. This is important for Darwinian selection and female physiological trade-offs, and possible mechanisms for hormone accumulation in the egg, which may differ among hormones, are reviewed. Although independent regulation of plasma and yolk concentrations of hormones is conceivable, the data are as yet inconclusive for ovarian hormones. Next, we discuss embryonic utilization of maternal steroids, since enzyme and receptor systems in the embryo may have coevolved with maternal effect mechanisms in the mother. We consider doseresponse relationships and action pathways of androgens and argue that these considerations may help to explain the apparent lack of interference of maternal steroids with sexual differentiation. Finally, we discuss mechanisms underlying the pleiotropic actions of maternal steroids, since linked effects may influence the coevolution of parent and offspring traits, owing to their role in the mediation of physiological trade-offs. Possible mechanisms here are interactions with other hormonal systems in the embryo. We urge endocrinologists to embark on suggested mechanistic studies and behavioural ecologists to adjust their interpretations to accommodate the current knowledge of mechanisms.

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“…GSE2814, GSE3086, GSE3087, and GSE3088. ] Mammalian sexual differentiation, initiated by the presence or absence of the testis-determining factor encoded on the Y chromosome (SRY in humans and Sry in mice) and mediated by the effects of sex hormones, has been studied in great detail (Smith 1994;McElreavey et al 1995;Vilain and McCabe 1998;Hughes 2001;Arnold 2004). It is clear that the regulatory pathways underlying sexual differentiation result in extensive differences in gene expression in adults.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tissue-specific expression and regulation of sexually dimorphic genes in mice

Yang¹,

Schadt²,

Wang³

et al. 2006

Genome Res.

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800

725

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We report a comprehensive analysis of gene expression differences between sexes in multiple somatic tissues of 334 mice derived from an intercross between inbred mouse strains C57BL/6J and C3H/HeJ. The analysis of a large number of individuals provided the power to detect relatively small differences in expression between sexes, and the use of an intercross allowed analysis of the genetic control of sexually dimorphic gene expression. Microarray analysis of 23,574 transcripts revealed that the extent of sexual dimorphism in gene expression was much greater than previously recognized. Thus, thousands of genes showed sexual dimorphism in liver, adipose, and muscle, and hundreds of genes were sexually dimorphic in brain. These genes exhibited highly tissue-specific patterns of expression and were enriched for distinct pathways represented in the Gene Ontology database. They also showed evidence of chromosomal enrichment, not only on the sex chromosomes, but also on several autosomes. Genetic analyses provided evidence of the global regulation of subsets of the sexually dimorphic genes, as the transcript levels of a large number of these genes were controlled by several expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) hotspots that exhibited tissue-specific control. Moreover, many tissue-specific transcription factor binding sites were found to be enriched in the sexually dimorphic genes.

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Concepts of Genetic and Hormonal Induction of Vertebrate Sexual Differentiation in the Twentieth Century, with Special Reference to the Brain

Cited by 59 publications

References 217 publications

Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Hormone-mediated maternal effects in birds:mechanismsmatter but what do we know of them?

Tissue-specific expression and regulation of sexually dimorphic genes in mice

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