Making males from females: the effects of aromatase inhibitors on a parthenogenetic species of whiptail lizard.

The parthenogenetic whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus uniparens provides a good model for the study of sex determination and sexual differentiation because genetic variation is minimal and all unmanipulated embryos will develop as females. Thus any deviation from the established course of development can be identified as a treatment effect. Previous work has shown that early prenatal treatment with CGS16949A, a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, causes hatchlings to develop as males. The present study explores more fully the effects of dosage and timing of application of CGS16949A and examines the sex-reversing potential of CGS20267, a new and reputedly more potent aromatase inhibitor. Eggs were treated with a range of dosages of the aromatase inhibitors. Hatchlings that received 1 microgram or more of either inhibitor were all male, while those that received 0.1 microgram or less were all female. No difference in potency between the two compounds was detected. Animals treated with 100 micrograms of CGS16949A on Day 20 of incubation or later were all female, while those treated on Day 5 were all male. Seven sex-reversed male parthenogens have been raised to sexual maturity. The animals appear similar morphologically and behaviorally to males of the sexually reproducing whiptail species. Spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis have been confirmed by histological examination of the testes and by postcopulatory cloacal swabs. Application of aromatase inhibitors has been shown to sex-reverse both avian and reptilian species. In mammals, the male-determining gene of the Y chromosome (SRY) may code for an intrinsic aromatase inhibitor. Studies show the gene's product has a binding domain which recognizes regulatory elements in the promoter of the aromatase gene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)