Trachemys scripta gene expression data under constant and fluctuating incubation temperatures

There is ample research demonstrating that temperature can have complex effects on biological processes, including the timing of when organisms respond to temperature; some responses occur rapidly while others require an extended exposure time. However, most of what we know about temperature effects comes from studies using constant temperature conditions, which are not reflective of natural, fluctuating temperatures. Species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) present an ideal system to study the temporal aspects of the temperature response because prior research has established a number of temperature-responsive genes involved in TSD, albeit under constant temperatures. To investigate potential differences in the timing of sexual development between constant and fluctuating incubation temperatures, we exposed Trachemys scripta embryos to two conditions that produce males (constant 26°C and 26 ± 3°C) and two that produce females (constant 31°C and 31 ± 3°C), and sampled ...