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Science 20 April 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5823, p. 411
DOI: 10.1126/science.1135925
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Brevia

Temperature Sex Reversal Implies Sex Gene Dosage in a Reptile

Alexander E. Quinn,1* Arthur Georges,1 Stephen D. Sarre,1 Fiorenzo Guarino,1 Tariq Ezaz,2 Jennifer A. Marshall Graves2

Sex in reptiles is determined by genes on sex chromosomes or by incubation temperature. Previously these two modes were thought to be distinct, yet we show that high incubation temperatures reverse genotypic males (ZZ) to phenotypic females in a lizard with ZZ and ZW sex chromosomes. Thus, the W chromosome is not necessary for female differentiation. Sex determination is probably via a dosage-sensitive male-determining gene on the Z chromosome that is inactivated by extreme temperatures. Our data invite a novel hypothesis for the evolution of temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and suggest that sex chromosomes may exist in many TSD reptiles.

1 Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
2 Comparative Genomics Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: quinn{at}aerg.canberra.edu.au

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