Overexpression of induces testicular differentiation in a temperature-dependent sex determination system.

In reptiles, such as the red-eared slider turtle ( ), gonadal sex determination is highly dependent on the environmental temperature during embryonic stages. This complex process, which leads to differentiation into either testes or ovaries, is governed by the finely tuned expression of upstream genes, notably the testis-promoting gene and the ovary-promoting gene . Recent studies have identified epigenetic regulation as a crucial factor in testis development, with the H3K27me3 demethylase KDM6B being essential for expression in However, whether KDM6B alone can induce testicular differentiation remains unclear. In this study, we found that overexpression of in embryos induced the male development pathway, accompanied by a rapid increase in the gonadal expression of at 31°C, a temperature typically resulting in female development. Notably, this sex reversal could be entirely rescued by knockdown. These findings demonstrate that is sufficient for commitment to the male pathway, underscoring its role as a critical epigenetic regulator in the sex determination of the red-eared slider turtle.