Estrogen receptor and temperature independently influence sex determination in the red-eared slider turtle.

ABSTRACT: In reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), including the red-eared slider turtle Trachemys scripta elegans, female sex determination is sensitive to estrogen. However, the underlying molecular mechanism by which estrogen facilitates ovarian development remains unclear in TSD. Here, we explore the role of estrogen receptors (ESRs) in ovarian differentiation by administering 17β-estradiol (E2), as well as agonists and antagonists of ESRs to embryos of red-eared sliders. We found that treatment with E2 or one of the ESR (ESRα, ESRβ, or GPER1) agonists induced typical female characteristics of gonads at the male-producing temperature (MPT), exhibiting advanced outer cortex and degraded medullary cord as well as upregulation of Cyp19a1 and Foxl2 and dow

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12318736 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature