1991/10/01 by Thane Wibbels, James J. Bull, David Crews · 4 citations
Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Turtle Biology and Conservation #Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities #Reproductive biology and impacts on aquatic species
paper · doi:10.1002/jez.1402600117
openalex publication_date 1991/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
In many reptiles, the temperature at which the eggs are incubated determines the sex of the hatchlings. Administration of estradiol will counteract the masculinizing effects of a male-producing temperature, resulting in female hatchlings. To address whether temperature and estrogen are biologically equivalent, two experiments were conducted with the red-eared slider turtle, Trachemys scripta. In the first experiment, varying dosages of estrogen were administered at Stage 17 (the middle of the temperature-sensitive window) to eggs maintained at two temperatures, 26 degrees C (which normally produces all males) and 28.2 degrees C (which produces mostly males but lies at the threshold of the transition from male- to female-producing temperatures). Results indicate that estrogen and temperature exert a synergistic effect on sex determination. In the second experiment, estrogen was administered at different stages of embryonic development. The results indicate an estrogen-sensitive period ranging from Stage 14 through Stage 21, a period similar to the temperature-sensitive period for this species. The results of these experiments are consistent with the hypothesis that temperature and estradiol act in a common pathway in temperature-dependent sex determination.