Gonadal Sex Differentiation (gonadal + sex_differentiation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Expression of AMH, SF1, and SOX9 in gonads of genetic female chickens during sex reversal induced by an aromatase inhibitor

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 2 2001
Séverine Vaillant
Abstract Aromatase inhibitors administered prior to histological signs of gonadal sex differentiation can induce sex reversal of genetic female chickens. Under the effects of Fadrozole (CGS 16949A), a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, the right gonad generally becomes a testis, and the left gonad a testis or an ovotestis. We have compared the expression pattern of the genes encoding AMH (the anti-Müllerian hormone), SF1 (steroidogenic factor 1), and SOX9 (a transcription factor related to SRY) in these sex-reversed gonads with that in control testes and ovaries, using in situ hybridization with riboprobes on gonadal sections. In control males, the three genes are expressed in Sertoli cells of testicular cords; however, only SOX9 is male specific, since as observed previously AMH and SF1 but not SOX9 are expressed in the control female gonads. In addition to testicular-like cords, sex-reversed gonads present many lacunae with a composite, thick and flat epithelium. We show that during embryonic and postnatal development, AMH, SF1 and SOX9 are expressed in the epithelium of testicular-like cords and in the thickened part but not in the flattened part of the epithelium of composite lacunae. AMH and SF1 but not SOX9 are expressed in follicular cells of ovotestes. Coexpression of the three genes, of which SOX9 is a specific Sertoli-cell marker, provides strong evidence for the transdifferentiation of ovarian into testicular epithelium in gonads of female chickens treated with Fadrozole. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Gonadal morphogenesis and sex differentiation in intraovarian embryos of the viviparous fish Zoarces viviparus (Teleostei, Perciformes, Zoarcidae): A histological and ultrastructural study

JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 9 2006
Tina H. Rasmussen
Abstract It is essential to know the timing and process of normal gonadal differentiation and development in the specific species being investigated in order to evaluate the effect of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals on these processes. In the present study gonadal sex differentiation and development were investigated in embryos of a viviparous species of marine fish, the eelpout, Zoarces viviparus, during their intraovarian development (early September to January) using light and electron microscopy. In both sexes of the embryos at the time of hatching (September 20) the initially undifferentiated paired bilobed gonad contains primordial germ cells. In the female embryos, ovarian differentiation, initiated 14 days posthatch (dph), is characterized by the initial formation of the endoovarian cavity of the single ovary as well as by the presence of some early meiotic oocytes in a chromatin-nucleolus stage. By 30 dph, the endoovarian cavity has formed. By 44 dph and onward, the ovary and the oocytes grow in size and at 134 dph, just prior to birth, the majority of the oocytes are at the perinucleolar stage of primary growth and definitive follicles have formed. In the presumptive bilobed testis of the male embryos, the germ cells (spermatogonia), in contrast to the germ cells of the ovary, remain quiescent and do not enter meiosis during intraovarian development. However, other structural (somatic) changes, such as the initial formation of the sperm duct (30 dph), the presence of blood vessels in the stromal areas of the testis (30 dph), and the appearance of developing testicular lobules (102 dph), indicate testicular differentiation. Ultrastructually, the features of the primordial germ cells, oogonia, and spermatogonia are similar, including nuage, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi complexes. J. Morphol. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Establishment of a strain inheriting a sex-linked SNP marker in Patagonian pejerrey (Odontesthes hatcheri), a species with both genotypic and temperature-dependent sex determination

ANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 1 2010
R. S. Hattori
Summary The Patagonian pejerrey Odontesthes hatcheri is an atherinopsid species presenting genotypic sex determination (GSD) at intermediate temperatures and temperature-dependent sex determination at the low and high ranges of thermal tolerance. A recent study revealed the presence of a sex-linked SNP marker in some males of this species, but a strain which inherits the marker faithfully has not been established. This research was conducted to develop such a strain, for use as a tool to study the molecular mechanisms of gonadal sex differentiation and sexual dimorphism, and to obtain basic information on the GSD mode in this species. For these purposes, we performed backcrosses and full-sibling crosses using males and females whose presumptive genotypic sex was inferred from the presence of the sex-linked SNP marker. Four backcrosses between SNP, daughters and their SNP+ father generated balanced sex ratios with the phenotypic sex matching the genotypic sex in most cases (98.21%) at an intermediate, sexually neutral temperature (21 °C). Full-sibling crosses between these four SNP, females and their SNP+ brothers produced three progenies with balanced sex ratios and one with 94.4% males. The results of this study confirm that a strain inheriting the sex-linked SNP marker was successfully developed. Moreover, the inheritance pattern of the marker and the sex ratios of the progenies provide strong evidence that the GSD mode in O. hatcheri is the XX,XY system. [source]


Effects of a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor on gonadal differentiation of bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus

AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 9 2010
Ze-Xia Gao
Abstract In the present study, the efficacy of Letrozole, a potent nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI), on gonadal sex differentiation and sex reversal was examined in bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). In Experiment 1, using AI diet treatments (50, 150, 250 and 500 mg kg,1) from 30 to 90 days posthatch (dph), AI interrupted ovarian cavity formation at a dose of 500 mg kg1 diet and one intersex fish was identified in this group. The proportions of males in all the treated groups were significantly higher than those in the control group. In Experiment 2, using AI immersion treatments (250, 500 and 1000 ,g L,1) during 30,50 dph, the treated groups of 500 and 1000 ,g L,1 produced significantly more males than the control and 250 ,g L,1 groups. Histological examination revealed no differences in ovary or testis tissue between control and AI-treated fish. There were no significant differences detected in body weight and length among the AI treated and control groups (P>0.05) for both experiments. The results from these two experiments suggest that inhibition of aromatase activity by AI could influence sex differentiation in bluegill sunfish. [source]