Dynamics of epigenetic modifiers and environmentally sensitive proteins in a reptile with temperature induced sex reversal

The mechanisms by which sex is determined, and how a sexual phenotype is stably maintained during adulthood, have been the focus of vigorous scientific inquiry. Resources common to the biomedical field (automated staining and imaging platforms) were leveraged to provide the first immunofluorescent data for a reptile species with temperature induced sex reversal. Two four-plex immunofluorescent panels were explored across three sex classes (sex reversed ZZf females, normal ZWf females, and normal ZZm males). One panel was stained for chromatin remodeling genes JARID2 and KDM6B, and methylation marks H3K27me3, and H3K4me3 (Jumonji Panel). The other CaRe panel stained for environmental response genes CIRBP and RelA, and H3K27me3 and H3K4me3. Our study characterized tissue specific expression and cellular localization patterns of these proteins and histone marks, providing new insights to the molecular characteristics of adult gonads in a dragon lizard Pogona vitticeps. The confirmation that mammalian antibodies cross react in P. vitticeps paves the way for experiments that can take advantage of this new immunohistochemical resource to gain a new understanding of the role of these proteins during embryonic development, and most importantly for P. vitticeps, the molecular underpinnings of sex reversal. Summary sentence Immunostaining of important chromatin modifiers, histone marks, and environmental response proteins across the three functional sexes in Pogona vitticeps shows protein dynamics differ between males, females, and sex reversed females.

Automated summary

This study utilized automated staining and imaging platforms to provide immunofluorescent data for a reptile species with temperature-induced sex reversal, showing differences in protein dynamics between males, females, and sex-reversed females. The characterization of tissue-specific expression and cellular localization patterns of chromatin modifiers, histone marks, and environmental response proteins in the adult gonads of a dragon lizard provides new insights into the molecular characteristics of sex determination and maintenance.