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Nemesházi E, Bókony V. HerpSexDet: the herpetological database of sex determination and sex reversal. Sci Data 2023; 10:377. [PMID: 37311775 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02268-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Wildlife exhibits various sex-determination systems where sex chromosomes and environmental temperatures may both contribute to individual sexual development. The causes and consequences of this variability are important questions for evolutionary ecology, especially in light of ongoing environmental change. Amphibians and reptiles are emerging as a key group for studying these questions, with new data accumulating acceleratingly. We collected empirical data from earlier databases, reviews and primary literature to create the most up-to-date database on herpetological sex determination. We named our database HerpSexDet, which currently features data on genetic and temperature-dependent sex determination as well as reports on sex reversal for a total of 192 amphibian and 697 reptile species. This dataset, which we will regularly update in the future, facilitates interspecific comparative studies on the evolution of sex determination and its consequences for species-specific traits such as life history and conservation status, and may also help guiding future research by identifying species or higher taxa that are potentially most enlightening for the study of environmentally driven sex reversal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edina Nemesházi
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstr. 1a, A-1160, Vienna, Austria.
- Veterinary Medical Research Institute, Hungária Krt. 21, H-1143, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Veronika Bókony
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Herman Ottó u. 15, H-1022, Budapest, Hungary.
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Tietz B, Penner J, Vamberger M. Chelonian challenge: three alien species from North America are moving their reproductive boundaries in Central Europe. NEOBIOTA 2023. [DOI: 10.3897/neobiota.82.87264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Biological invasions by alien species have substantial economic impacts and are a major driver of the ongoing decline and loss of biodiversity. Through humans, the North American pond slider (Trachemys scripta) has acquired a global distribution over the last decades and is currently listed among the worst invasive reptile species. However, in more recent times, other freshwater chelonian species have increasingly been recorded far outside their native distribution ranges as well, not only on the same continent but also on others. Despite that, the impact of alien chelonians on their respective new ecosystems remains unclear. The long-term effects and severity of impacts of alien populations mostly depend on whether they ultimately succeed in establishing themselves. This is not entirely resolved for chelonians in Central Europe. To answer that, we investigated wild populations of three non-native chelonian species from North America in Germany (Pseudemys concinna, Graptemys pseudogeographica and Trachemys scripta) applying population genetic approaches. We revealed the successful reproduction of all three species in Germany and provide the very first record for the reproduction of P. concinna and G. pseudogeographica in a temperate continental climate zone outside their native distribution. Based on our unambiguous evidence of natural reproduction, we call for dedicated studies to verify how widespread established populations are and to investigate the existing and potential impacts of all three species in a range of ecosystems along a climatic gradient. Such data is urgently needed to revise the current risk assessments of non-native chelonians, especially in Central European countries.
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Suárez-Varón G, Mendoza-Cruz E, Acosta A, Villagrán-Santa Cruz M, Cortez D, Hernández-Gallegos O. Genetic determination and JARID2 over-expression in a thermal incubation experiment in Casque-Headed Lizard. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263804. [PMID: 35797377 PMCID: PMC9262179 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-avian reptiles, unlike mammals and birds, have undergone numerous sex determination changes. Casque-Headed Lizards have replaced the ancestral XY system shared across pleurodonts with a new pair of XY chromosomes. However, the evolutionary forces that triggered this transition have remained unclear. An interesting hypothesis suggests that species with intermediate states, with sex chromosomes but also thermal-induced sex reversal at specific incubation temperatures, could be more susceptible to sex determination turnovers. We contrasted genotypic data (presence/absence of the Y chromosome) against the histology of gonads of embryos from stages 35–37 incubated at various temperatures, including typical male-producing (26°C) and female-producing (32°C) temperatures. Our work apparently reports for the first time the histology of gonads, including morphological changes, from stages 35–37 of development in the family Corytophanidae. We also observed that all embryos developed hemipenes, suggesting sex-linked developmental heterochrony. We observed perfect concordance between genotype and phenotype at all temperatures. However, analysis of transcriptomic data from embryos incubated at 26°C and 32°C identified transcript variants of the chromatin modifiers JARID2 and KDM6B that have been linked to temperature-dependent sex determination in other reptiles. Our work tested the validity of a mixed sex determination system in the family Corytophanidae. We found that XY chromosomes are dominant; however, our work supports the hypothesis of a conserved transcriptional response to incubation temperatures across non-avian reptiles that could be a reminiscence of an ancestral sex determination system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Suárez-Varón
- Laboratorio de Herpetología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Instituto Literario # 100 Centro, Toluca, Estado de México, México
| | - Eva Mendoza-Cruz
- Laboratorio de Biología Tisular y Reproductora, Departamento de Biología Comparada, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | | | - Maricela Villagrán-Santa Cruz
- Laboratorio de Biología Tisular y Reproductora, Departamento de Biología Comparada, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Diego Cortez
- Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, UNAM, Cuernavaca, México
- * E-mail:
| | - Oswaldo Hernández-Gallegos
- Laboratorio de Herpetología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Instituto Literario # 100 Centro, Toluca, Estado de México, México
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Loope KJ, Rostal DC, Walden M, Shoemaker KT, Hunter EA. A comparison of non-surgical methods for sexing young gopher tortoises ( Gopherus polyphemus). PeerJ 2022; 10:e13599. [PMID: 35722258 PMCID: PMC9205304 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Many turtle species have temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), raising the prospect that climate change could impact population dynamics by altering sex ratios. Understanding how climate change will affect populations of animals with TSD requires a reliable and minimally invasive method of identifying the sexes of young individuals. This determination is challenging in many turtles, which often lack conspicuous external sexual dimorphism until years after hatching. Here, we explore four alternatives for sexing three age classes of captive-reared young gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), a terrestrial turtle of conservation concern native to the southeastern United States: (1) naive testosterone levels, (2) testosterone levels following a follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) challenge, (3) linear morphological measurements, and (4) geometric morphometrics. Unlike some other turtle species, male and female neonatal gopher tortoises have overlapping naive testosterone concentration distributions, justifying more complicated methods. We found that sex of neonates (<7 days old) is best predicted by a "random forest" machine learning model with naive testosterone levels and morphological measurements (8% out-of-bag error). Sex of hatchlings (4-8 months old) was predicted with 11% error using a simple threshold on naive testosterone levels, or with 4% error using a simple threshold on post-FSH testosterone levels. Sex of juveniles (approximately 3.5 years old) was perfectly predicted using a simple threshold on naive testosterone levels. Sexing hatchlings at >4 months of age is the easiest and most reliable non-surgical method for sex identification. Given access to a rearing facility and equipment to perform hormone assays, these methods have the potential to supplant laparoscopic surgery as the method of choice for sexing young gopher tortoises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J. Loope
- Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, United States of America,Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - David C. Rostal
- Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, United States of America
| | - M.A. Walden
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada—Reno, Reno, NV, United States of America
| | - Kevin T. Shoemaker
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada—Reno, Reno, NV, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Hunter
- Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, United States of America,Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, United States of America,Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, U.S. Geological Survey, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
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Prieto-Torres DA, Nuñez Rosas LE, Remolina Figueroa D, Arizmendi MDC. Most Mexican hummingbirds lose under climate and land-use change: Long-term conservation implications. Perspect Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2021.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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Katona G, Vági B, Végvári Z, Liker A, Freckleton RP, Bókony V, Székely T. Are evolutionary transitions in sexual size dimorphism related to sex determination in reptiles? J Evol Biol 2021; 34:594-603. [PMID: 33595859 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Sex determination systems are highly variable in vertebrates, although neither the causes nor the implications of this diversity are fully understood. Theory suggests that sex determination is expected to relate to sexual size dimorphism, because environmental sex determination promotes sex-specific developmental bias in embryonic growth rates. Furthermore, selection for larger size in one sex or the other has been proposed to drive the evolution of different genetic sex determination systems. Here, we investigate whether sex determination systems relate to adult sexual size dimorphism, using 250 species of reptiles (Squamata, Testudines and Crocodylia) representing 26 families. Using phylogenetically informed analyses, we find that sexual size dimorphism is associated with sex determination: species with TSDIa sex determination (i.e. in which the proportion of female offspring increases with incubation temperature) have more female-biased size dimorphism than species with TSDII (i.e. species in which males are produced at mid temperatures). We also found a trend that species with TSD ancestors had more male-biased size dimorphism in XY sex chromosome systems than in ZW sex chromosome systems. Taken together, our results support the prediction that sexual size dimorphism is linked to sex-dependent developmental variations caused by environmental factors and also by sex chromosomes. Since the extent of size dimorphism is related to various behavioural, ecological and life-history differences between sexes, our results imply profound impacts of sex determination systems for vertebrate diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Katona
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Balázs Vági
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Végvári
- Centre for Ecological Research, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Danube Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary.,Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Müncheberg, Germany
| | - András Liker
- MTA-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary.,Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Center for Natural Sciences, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Veronika Bókony
- Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Székely
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, UK.,State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Van Dyke JU, Thompson MB, Burridge CP, Castelli MA, Clulow S, Dissanayake DSB, Dong CM, Doody JS, Edwards DL, Ezaz T, Friesen CR, Gardner MG, Georges A, Higgie M, Hill PL, Holleley CE, Hoops D, Hoskin CJ, Merry DL, Riley JL, Wapstra E, While GM, Whiteley SL, Whiting MJ, Zozaya SM, Whittington CM. Australian lizards are outstanding models for reproductive biology research. AUST J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1071/zo21017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Australian lizards are a diverse group distributed across the continent and inhabiting a wide range of environments. Together, they exhibit a remarkable diversity of reproductive morphologies, physiologies, and behaviours that is broadly representative of vertebrates in general. Many reproductive traits exhibited by Australian lizards have evolved independently in multiple lizard lineages, including sociality, complex signalling and mating systems, viviparity, and temperature-dependent sex determination. Australian lizards are thus outstanding model organisms for testing hypotheses about how reproductive traits function and evolve, and they provide an important basis of comparison with other animals that exhibit similar traits. We review how research on Australian lizard reproduction has contributed to answering broader evolutionary and ecological questions that apply to animals in general. We focus on reproductive traits, processes, and strategies that are important areas of current research, including behaviours and signalling involved in courtship; mechanisms involved in mating, egg production, and sperm competition; nesting and gestation; sex determination; and finally, birth in viviparous species. We use our review to identify important questions that emerge from an understanding of this body of research when considered holistically. Finally, we identify additional research questions within each topic that Australian lizards are well suited for reproductive biologists to address.
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