Suzuki S
Biological Laboratory, Kanagawa Prefectural College, Yokohama, 241-0815, Japan.
Gen Comp Endocrinol. 1999 Sep;115(3):370-8. doi: 10.1006/gcen.1999.7324.
Sex reversal of female isopods, Armadillidium vulgare, has been induced by implantation of the androgenic gland (AG) into individuals after the initiation of morphological sex differentiation. The focus of the present study is to examine whether female gonads are reversed by the androgenic gland hormone (AGH) during the sexually undifferentiated period through postembryonic development in A. vulgare. Instead of injections of AGH, three AGs were implanted into each genetic female at various developmental stages to induce sex reversal. Before implantation fresh AGs were treated with ethanol to stop AGH synthesis, but then still contained AGH. These AGs have been referred to as ethanol-treated AGs (t-AGs). Development of a testis was used as an indicator of gonadal sex reversal. The gonads of genetic females were transformed into testes by implantations of t-AGs during the sex differentiation period. However, when genetic females received implants at sexually undifferentiated stages, development of their gonads was not reversed in the male direction. These results suggest that after the onset of gonadal sex differentiation, AGH is a sex-reversing factor that can turn a female gonad into a male gonad. AGH cannot be a sex-determining factor in female A. vulgare, as undifferentiated gonads of genetic females are not sex reversed by the hormone.
在形态学性别分化开始后，通过将雄性腺（AG）植入普通鼠妇（Armadillidium vulgare）个体中，已诱导出雌性鼠妇的性逆转。本研究的重点是通过普通鼠妇的胚后发育，研究在性别未分化期，雄性腺激素（AGH）是否会使雌性性腺发生逆转。不是注射AGH，而是在不同发育阶段将三个AG植入每个遗传雌性个体中以诱导性逆转。植入前，新鲜的AG用乙醇处理以停止AGH合成，但仍含有AGH。这些AG被称为乙醇处理的AG（t-AG）。睾丸的发育被用作性腺性逆转的指标。在性别分化期，通过植入t-AG，遗传雌性的性腺会转变为睾丸。然而，当遗传雌性在性别未分化阶段接受植入时，其性腺的发育不会向雄性方向逆转。这些结果表明，在性腺性别分化开始后，AGH是一种性逆转因子，可以将雌性性腺转变为雄性性腺。AGH不可能是普通雌性鼠妇的性别决定因子，因为遗传雌性未分化的性腺不会被该激素逆转性别。
