Corticosterone does not have a role in temperature sex reversal in the central bearded dragon (<i>Pogona vitticeps</i>)

Castelli, Meghan A.; Georges, Arthur; Holleley, Clare E.

doi:10.1002/jez.2441

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The finding that CORT levels during sex determination did not reflect CORT treatments in our experiment is similar to discrepancies reported in previous studies, which the authors attributed to methodological difficulties with CORT measurement, e.g. due to rapid clearance (Castelli et al, 2021; Hattori et al, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Does stress make males? An experiment on the role of glucocorticoids in anuran sex reversal

Bókony,

Kalina,

Ujhegyi

et al. 2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

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Environmentally sensitive sex determination may help organisms adapt to environmental change but also makes them vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors, with diverse consequences for population dynamics and evolution. The mechanisms translating environmental stimuli to sex are controversial: although several fish experiments supported the mediator role of glucocorticoid hormones, results on some reptiles challenged it. We tested this hypothesis in amphibians by investigating the effect of corticosterone on sex determination in agile frogs (Rana dalmatina). This species is liable to environmental sex reversal whereby genetic females develop into phenotypic males. After exposing tadpoles during sex determination to waterborne corticosterone, the proportion of genetic females with testes or ovotestes increased from 11% to up to 32% at 3 out of 4 concentrations. These differences were not statistically significant except for the group treated with 10 nM corticosterone, and there was no monotonous dose‐effect relationship. These findings suggest that corticosterone is unlikely to mediate sex reversal in frogs. Unexpectedly, animals originating from urban habitats had higher sex‐reversal and corticosterone‐release rates, reduced body mass and development speed, and lower survival compared to individuals collected from woodland habitats. Thus, anthropogenic environments may affect both sex and fitness, and the underlying mechanisms may vary across ectothermic vertebrates.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Does stress make males? An experiment on the role of glucocorticoids in anuran sex reversal

Bókony,

Kalina,

Ujhegyi

et al. 2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Does stress make males? An experiment on the role of glucocorticoids in anuran sex reversal

Bókony,

Kalina,

Ujhegyi

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Environmentally sensitive sex determination may help organisms adapt to environmental change but also makes them vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors, with diverse consequences for population dynamics and evolution. The mechanisms translating environmental stimuli to sex are controversial: although several fish experiments supported the mediator role of glucocorticoid hormones, results on some reptiles challenged it. We tested this hypothesis in amphibians by investigating the effect of corticosterone on sex determination in agile frogs (Rana dalmatina). This species is liable to environmental sex reversal whereby genetic females develop into phenotypic males. After exposing tadpoles during sex determination to waterborne corticosterone, the proportion of genetic females with testes or ovotestes increased from 11% to up to 32% at 3 out of 4 concentrations. These differences were not statistically significant except for the group treated with 10 nM corticosterone, and there was no monotonous dose-effect relationship. These findings suggest that corticosterone is unlikely to mediate sex reversal in frogs. Unexpectedly, animals originating from urban habitats had higher sex-reversal and corticosterone-release rates, reduced body mass and development speed, and lower survival compared to individuals collected from woodland habitats. Thus, anthropogenic environments may affect both sex and fitness, and the underlying mechanisms may vary across ectothermic vertebrates.

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“…This view is further supported by recent findings in the gonochoristic European sea bass ( Dicentrarchus labrax ), in which natural cortisol fluctuations were found to be independent from sex determination and differentiation mechanisms [ 24 , 25 ]. Such discoveries also agree with contrasting observations in reptilian systems, in which the effect of increased yolk corticosterone influenced sex ratios in some lizard species [ 26 ], but not others [ 27 , 28 ]. Thus, cortisol’s role in sex determination may be species-specific.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Effects of cortisol on female-to-male sex change in a wrasse

et al. 2022

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Sex change occurs as a usual part of the life cycle for many teleost fish and the modifications involved (behavioural, gonadal, morphological) are well studied. However, the mechanism that transduces environmental cues into the molecular cascade that underlies this transformation remains unknown. Cortisol, the main stress hormone in fish, is hypothesised to be a key factor linking environmental stimuli with sex change by initiating gene expression changes that shift steroidogenesis from oestrogens to androgens but this notion remains to be rigorously tested. Therefore, this study aimed to experimentally test the role of cortisol as an initiator of sex change in a protogynous (female-to-male) hermaphrodite, the New Zealand spotty wrasse (Notolabrus celidotus). We also sought to identify potential key regulatory factors within the head kidney that may contribute to the initiation and progression of gonadal sex change. Cortisol pellets were implanted into female spotty wrasses under inhibitory conditions (presence of a male), and outside of the optimal season for natural sex change. Histological analysis of the gonads and sex hormone analyses found no evidence of sex change after 71 days of cortisol treatment. However, expression analyses of sex and stress-associated genes in gonad and head kidney suggested that cortisol administration did have a physiological effect. In the gonad, this included upregulation of amh, a potent masculinising factor, and nr3c1, a glucocorticoid receptor. In the head kidney, hsd11b2, which converts cortisol to inactive cortisone to maintain cortisol balance, was upregulated. Overall, our results suggest cortisol administration outside of the optimal sex change window is unable to initiate gonadal restructuring. However, our expression data imply key sex and stress genes are sensitive to cortisol. This includes genes expressed in both gonad and head kidney that have been previously implicated in early sex change in several sex-changing species.

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Corticosterone does not have a role in temperature sex reversal in the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps)

Cited by 7 publications

References 46 publications

Does stress make males? An experiment on the role of glucocorticoids in anuran sex reversal

Does stress make males? An experiment on the role of glucocorticoids in anuran sex reversal

Does stress make males? An experiment on the role of glucocorticoids in anuran sex reversal

Effects of cortisol on female-to-male sex change in a wrasse

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