Figure 6.
Ovarian differentiation in response to a female-producing temperature versus exogenous estrogen at a male-producing temperature in the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta). Feminizing temperature and estrogen are not equivalent signals for estrogen signaling components during ovarian differentiation (Stage 23). Aromatase (A,D), ERα (B,E), and ERβ (C,F) are depicted in ovaries created at constant incubation at a female-producing temperature versus ovaries created as a result of estradiol (E2) treatment of eggs at Stage 17. Dotted lines indicate the basement membrane separating the medullary and cortical compartments. Arrows in (D,E,F) highlight the shift in localization towards the cortical region. Abbreviations as in Figure 4. Redrawn from [67, 85].