Disorders of Sexual Development in Poultry

Lambeth, Luke S.; Smith, Craig A.

doi:10.1159/000334059

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…During embryonic life, the left female duct is thought to be protected from AMH by the action of local oestrogens [Tran and Josso, 1977;Hutson et al, 1982]. In females, due to a lack of gonadal androgens, the Wolffian ducts regress along with the mesonephric kidney [reviewed in Lambeth and Smith, 2012].…”

Section: Avian Sex Determination and Gonadal Sex Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Reversal in Birds

Major

Smith²

2016

Sex Dev

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Sexual differentiation in birds is controlled genetically as in mammals, although the sex chromosomes are different. Males have a ZZ sex chromosome constitution, while females are ZW. Gene(s) on the sex chromosomes must initiate gonadal sex differentiation during embryonic life, inducing paired testes in ZZ individuals and unilateral ovaries in ZW individuals. The traditional view of avian sexual differentiation aligns with that expounded for other vertebrates; upon sexual differentiation, the gonads secrete sex steroid hormones that masculinise or feminise the rest of the body. However, recent studies on naturally occurring or experimentally induced avian sex reversal suggest a significant role for direct genetic factors, in addition to sex hormones, in regulating sexual differentiation of the soma in birds. This review will provide an overview of sex determination in birds and both naturally and experimentally induced sex reversal, with emphasis on the key role of oestrogen. We then consider how recent studies on sex reversal and gynandromorphic birds (half male:half female) are shaping our understanding of sexual differentiation in avians and in vertebrates more broadly. Current evidence shows that sexual differentiation in birds is a mix of direct genetic and hormonal mechanisms. Perturbation of either of these components may lead to sex reversal.

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Section: Avian Sex Determination and Gonadal Sex Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Reversal in Birds

Major

Smith²

2016

Sex Dev

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“…The role of intrinsic genetic markers (Zhao et al., ) versus extrinsic hormones (Chen, Plikus, Tang, Widelitz, & Chuong, ; Lindsay, Barron, Webster, & Schwabl, ) in regulating these sexual dimorphic feather shapes, sizes, textures and colors is still unclear. This is especially true since gonadectomy, which eliminates the source of hormone secretion, can alter feather characteristics (Lambeth & Smith, ), suggesting that hormones do play a role in sexual dimorphisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morpho‐regulation in diverse chicken feather formation: Integrating branching modules and sex hormone‐dependent morpho‐regulatory modules

et al. 2018

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Many animals can change the size, shape, texture and color of their regenerated coats in response to different ages, sexes, or seasonal environmental changes. Here we propose that the feather core branching morphogenesis module can be regulated by sex hormones or other environmental factors to change feather forms, textures or colors, thus generating a large spectrum of complexity for adaptation. We use sexual dimorphisms of the chicken to explore the role of hormones. A long-standing question is whether the sex-dependent feather morphologies are autonomously controlled by the male or female cell types, or extrinsically controlled and reversible. We have recently identified core feather branching molecular modules which control the anterior-posterior (BMP, Wnt gradient), medio-lateral (Retinoic signaling, Gremlin), and proximo-distal (Sprouty, BMP) patterning of feathers. We hypothesize that morpho-regulation, through quantitative modulation of existing parameters, can act on core branching modules to topologically tune the dimension of each parameter during morphogenesis and regeneration. Here we explore the involvement of hormones in generating sexual dimorphisms using exogenously delivered hormones. Our strategy is to mimic male androgen levels by applying exogenous dihydrotestosterone and aromatase inhibitors to adult females and to mimic female estradiol levels by injecting exogenous estradiol to adult males. We also examine differentially expressed genes in the feathers of wildtype male and female chickens to identify potential downstream modifiers of feather morphogenesis. The data show male and female feather morphology and their color patterns can be modified extrinsically through molting and resetting the stem cell niche during regeneration.

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“…All birds have homologous sex chromosomes that formed about 120 MYA, similarly to the mammalian sex chromosomes (about 165 MYA). However, whereas all mammals and most birds lineages have highly differentiated sex chromosomes, in some groups of birds, such as ratites, the sex chromosomes remain homomorphic [12]. It is believed that sex of these species can be controlled: 1) the W sex chromosome carries a dominant-аcting female determinant (a ZZW female bird or a Z0 male bird have not been definitively documented in birds and it has been suggested that such genotypes may be lethal to embryos); 2) sex could be determined by dosage of one or more Z-linked genes, i.e.…”

Section: Figure 1 Z and W Chromosomes Of Gallus Gallus Domesticusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Phenotypically female at hatching, the birds eventually lost the ovarian component of the left gonad and they became male at sexual maturity [3]. In 2012 fertile triploid ZZW female of plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) was described [12] [14]. It points to the special role of W chromosomes in sex determination in birds.…”

Section: Figure 1 Z and W Chromosomes Of Gallus Gallus Domesticusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problems of Birds Sex Determination

Trukhina¹,

Smirnov²

2014

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Sex determination system in birds is characterized by a homo-(Neognatae) and heteromorphic (Paleognatae) sex chromosomes. Heterogametic sex is female (ZZ/ZW system). DMRT1 gene is a gene regarded as a main male sex determining factor in this group of animals. The question remains about the participation of other factors (HEMOGEN, AMH etc.) in appearance of testis, and the role of steroid hormones in formation of ovaries. Complete sex inversion is not typical for species with genotypic sex determination (GSD), although the effect of estrogen metabolites is noted for birds. For birds epigenetic mechanisms of regulation (methylation of DNA and non-coding RNA) have been described for sex controlling genes such as CYP19A1 and DMRT1.

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Disorders of Sexual Development in Poultry

Cited by 10 publications

References 59 publications

Sex Reversal in Birds

Sex Reversal in Birds

Morpho‐regulation in diverse chicken feather formation: Integrating branching modules and sex hormone‐dependent morpho‐regulatory modules

Problems of Birds Sex Determination

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