Development and pre-validation of a testosterone enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for predicting the sex ratio of immature loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) recovered along the western coast of the central Adriatic Sea

Cocci, Paolo; Bracchetti, Luca; Angelini, Valeria; Bucchia, Matteo; Pari, Sauro; Mosconi, Gilberto; Palermo, Francesco Alessandro

doi:10.1007/s00227-013-2326-1

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Similar to Cocci et al [ 27 ], we have demonstrated that enzyme immunoassay is a reliable and convenient tool for the rapid assessment of immature sea turtle sex, and therefore, sex ratio. The only limitation we encountered was that the assay was not reliable for predicting the sex of reproductively active females.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…the sex cannot be determined in these turtles because T concentrations fall between male and female ranges or there is overlap in T concentrations between males and females (e.g. loggerhead and green turtles, [ 25 – 27 ]). Some immature individuals will have T concentrations which fall within the range of male-female overlap, either by chance or possibly due to time of year/water temperature (see [ 28 ] for immature loggerheads), while for other populations/species the T concentration range for each sex is more defined (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been applied in marine wildlife to monitor health, reproduction, and stress response and to determine sex (e.g. fish, marine mammals, and sea turtles [ 27 , 32 – 35 ]). However, assay methods must first be validated to confirm reliability with each target species prior to application of a novel hormone assay technology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

First Assessment of the Sex Ratio for an East Pacific Green Sea Turtle Foraging Aggregation: Validation and Application of a Testosterone ELISA

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Determining sex ratios of endangered populations is important for wildlife management, particularly species subject to sex-specific threats or that exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination. Sea turtle sex is determined by incubation temperature and individuals lack external sex-based traits until sexual maturity. Previous research utilized serum/plasma testosterone radioimmunoassays (RIA) to determine sex in immature/juvenile sea turtles. However, there has been a growing application of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for wildlife endocrinology studies, but no study on sea turtles has compared the results of ELISA and RIA. This study provides the first sex ratio for a threatened East Pacific green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) foraging aggregation, a critical step for future management of this species. Here, we validate a testosterone ELISA and compare results between RIA and ELISA of duplicate samples. The ELISA demonstrated excellent correspondence with the RIA for providing testosterone concentrations for sex determination. Neither assay proved reliable for predicting the sex of reproductively active females with increased testosterone production. We then applied ELISA to examine the sex ratio of 69 green turtles foraging in San Diego Bay, California. Of 45 immature turtles sampled, sex could not be determined for three turtles because testosterone concentrations fell between the ranges for either sex (females: 4.1–113.1 pg/mL, males: 198.4–2,613.0 pg/mL) and these turtles were not subsequently recaptured to enable sex determination; using a Bayesian model to predict probabilities of turtle sex we predicted all three ‘unknowns’ were female (> 0.86). Additionally, the model assigned all turtles with their correct sex (if determined at recapture) with 100% accuracy. Results indicated a female bias (2.83F:1M) among all turtles in the aggregation; when focusing only on putative immature turtles the sex ratio was 3.5F:1M. With appropriate validation, ELISA sexing could be applied to other sea turtle species, and serve as a crucial conservation tool.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

First Assessment of the Sex Ratio for an East Pacific Green Sea Turtle Foraging Aggregation: Validation and Application of a Testosterone ELISA

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Sea turtles with traumatic injuries, eye/skin diseases, and infections were not enrolled in the study. Curved carapace lengths (CCLs) of the selected sea turtles were measured in order to confirm the juvenile status ( Figure 1 ) [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Animals were divided into two subgroups according to the plasma levels of UV filters found in our previous study [ 4 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic UV Filters Induce Toll-like-Receptors and Related Signaling Pathways in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Juvenile Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta)

Cocci

Mosconi

Palermo

2022

Animals

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent evidence suggests that exposure to organic ultraviolet filters (UV filters) is associated with dysregulated neuroendocrine-immune homeostasis. Marine species are likely to be among the most vulnerable to UV filters due to widespread diffusion of these chemicals in the aquatic environment. In the present study, the effects of UV filter bioaccumulation on toll-like-receptors (TLRs) and related signaling pathways were investigated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). We found that the expression of both TLR1 and TLR2 was significantly increased in UV-filter exposed turtles compared to control animals. Similarly, the signaling pathway downstream of activated TLRs (i.e., Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (RAC1), Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT3), and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)) was significantly up-regulated, leading to an enhanced transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, we demonstrated that high levels of plasma UV filters increased lipid peroxidation in sea turtles’ PBMCs. Our results indicated that UV filters affected the inflammatory responses of PBMCs via modulation of the TLR/NF-κB signaling pathway and provided a new insight into the link between exposure to sunscreen agents and sea turtle health.

show abstract

Reproductive performance is associated with seasonal plasma reproductive hormone levels, steroidogenic enzymes and sex hormone receptor expression levels in cultured Asian yellow pond turtles (Mauremys mutica)

Wang

Liu

et al. 2021

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry an

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Development and pre-validation of a testosterone enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for predicting the sex ratio of immature loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) recovered along the western coast of the central Adriatic Sea

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

First Assessment of the Sex Ratio for an East Pacific Green Sea Turtle Foraging Aggregation: Validation and Application of a Testosterone ELISA

First Assessment of the Sex Ratio for an East Pacific Green Sea Turtle Foraging Aggregation: Validation and Application of a Testosterone ELISA

Organic UV Filters Induce Toll-like-Receptors and Related Signaling Pathways in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Juvenile Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta)

Reproductive performance is associated with seasonal plasma reproductive hormone levels, steroidogenic enzymes and sex hormone receptor expression levels in cultured Asian yellow pond turtles (Mauremys mutica)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About