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Does the mechanism of sex determination constrain the potential for sex manipulation? A test in geckos with contrasting sex-determining systems

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Abstract

The concentration of yolk steroids was suggested to influence offspring gender in oviparous animals subject to both temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and genotypic sex determination (GSD). However, the proposed mechanisms of steroid effects are thought to differ between TSD and GSD: a direct effect of oestrogens on gonad feminisation in TSD species vs a differential induction of male-producing or female-producing gametes in GSD species. Geckos offer an ideal opportunity for testing these suggested mechanisms. Closely related gecko species differ in their modes of sex determination. They lay clutches of two synchronously formed eggs; both eggs share equal steroid levels. If identical hormonal composition and environment during vitellogenesis, gravidity and incubation determine the sex of the progeny, siblings should share the same gender in both TSD and GSD geckos. We found strong support for this prediction in a TSD gecko species. Among clutches that were incubated at the temperature that produced both sexes, there were no clutches with siblings of the opposite sex. On the other hand, about half of the clutches yielded siblings of the opposite sex in four GSD species. These results suggest that sex-determining systems constrain the ability of the female to produce single-sex siblings and, hence, it seems that the GSD mechanism constrains the opportunities for sex ratio manipulation in geckos via yolk steroid manipulation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Pokorná, Z. Starostová, J. Červenka, Š. Gorički, F. J. Janzen, H. John-Alder and three anonymous referees for the critical reading of the manuscript and the constructive comments. J. Břehová, H. Jirků, M. Pokorná and K. Zelená assisted in animal care. This research was supported by GAAV project no. KJB611302; institutional support was provided by MSMT, project no. 0021620828. All work was performed in accordance with the regulations of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Charles University.

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  1. Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Prague, Czech Republic

    Lukáš Kratochvíl & Lukáš Kubička

  2. Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Prague, Czech Republic

    Eva Landová

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  1. Lukáš Kratochvíl
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  2. Lukáš Kubička
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Correspondence to Lukáš Kratochvíl.

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Kratochvíl, L., Kubička, L. & Landová, E. Does the mechanism of sex determination constrain the potential for sex manipulation? A test in geckos with contrasting sex-determining systems. Naturwissenschaften 95, 209–215 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-007-0317-0

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