STEROID HORMONE-INDUCED MALE SEX DETERMINATION IN AN AMNIOTIC VERTEBRATE

In many reptiles, sex is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated (i.e., temperature-dependent sex determination, or TSD). Past studies have shown that exogenous steroid hormones can override the effects of temperature and induce female sex determination. However, past attempts to induce male sex determination have consistently failed. In the present study, sex determination was studied in a turtle with TSD. By utilizing an incubation temperature regimen that resulted in approximately a 1:1 sex ratio in the control group, sex determination was shown to be sensitive to both exogenous androgen and estrogen treatments: androgen induced the production of male hatchlings, whereas estrogen induced the production of female hatchlings. This is the first report of an amniotic vertebrate in which an exogenous steroid hormone induces male sex determination.