Genetic Evidence for Co-occurrence of Chromosomal and Thermal Sex-determining Systems in a Lizard

Rajikumar Radder, Alex Quinn, Arthur Georges, Stephen Sarre, Richard Shine

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    138 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    An individual's sex depends upon its genes (genotypic sex determination or GSD) in birds and mammals, but reptiles are more complex: some species have GSD whereas in others, nest temperatures determine offspring sex (temperature-dependent sex determination). Previous studies suggested that montane scincid lizards (Bassiana duperreyi, Scincidae) possess both of these systems simultaneously: offspring sex is determined by heteromorphic sex chromosomes (XX–XY system) in most natural nests, but sex ratio shifts suggest that temperatures override chromosomal sex in cool nests to generate phenotypically male offspring even from XX eggs. We now provide direct evidence that incubation temperatures can sex-reverse genotypically female offspring, using a DNA sex marker. Application of exogenous hormone to eggs also can sex-reverse offspring (oestradiol application produces XY as well as XX females). In conjunction with recent work on a distantly related lizard taxon, our study challenges the notion of a fundamental dichotomy between genetic and thermally determined sex determination, and hence the validity of current classification schemes for sex-determining systems in reptiles.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)176-178
    Number of pages3
    JournalBiology Letters
    Volume4
    Issue number2
    Publication statusPublished - 2008

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