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| Item Type: | Preprint |
|---|---|
| Title: | Flexibility of cell fates and functions across sex determination systems revealed by comparative single-cell analyses |
| Creators Name: | Acemel, Rafael D., Tezak, Boris, Chung, Vicky Wai Yee, Hurtado, Alicia, Albertson, Scarlett, Weber, Ceri J., Capel, Blanche and Lupiáñez, Darío G. |
| Abstract: | Sex determination in vertebrates can be initiated by a wide range of genetic or environmental triggers. Yet, the degree to which gonadal cell types and genetic programs are conserved remains unresolved. Here we employed single-cell transcriptomics to characterize the temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) program in gonads from the turtle species Trachemys scripta. Comparative analyses against species with genetic sex determination, like mouse (XY) and chicken (ZW), revealed a marked divergence in cell type repertoires and functions during vertebrate evolution. Unlike mammals, fetal Leydig cells are absent from the early gonads of T. scripta , where the supporting lineage expresses genes required for androgen synthesis. Evolutionary reconstructions show that this lineage derives from a Pax2 -positive mesenchymal population, suggesting an ancestral condition in Archelosauria that differs from the primarily coelomic epithelium origin in the mammalian clade. Transcriptional dynamics and co-expression analyses revealed the recruitment of lineage-specific transcription factors, including Twist1 or Runx1 , into the genetic programs of vertebrate clades. Our findings reveal extensive plasticity of the cellular and genetic mechanisms of vertebrate sex determination and suggest that this flexibility is a key feature of gonadal evolution. |
| Source: | bioRxiv |
| Publisher: | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press |
| Article Number: | 2026.01.29.701242 |
| Date: | 30 January 2026 |
| Official Publication: | https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.29.701242 |
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