Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on March 24, 2005
Human Reproduction 2005 20(6):1504-1510; doi:10.1093/humrep/deh802
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
20/6/1504    most recent
deh802v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Perret, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Perret, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions{at}oupjournals.org

Relationship between urinary estrogen levels before conception and sex ratio at birth in a primate, the gray mouse lemur

M. Perret

Département d'Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversité, CNRS–MNHN, UMR 5176, 4 avenue du petit château, 91800 Brunoy, FranceEmail: martine.perret{at}wanadoo.fr

BACKGROUND: In primates, including humans, bias of sex ratio at birth has been reported to depend on maternal condition at conception. In a Malagasy primate, the gray mouse lemur, male-biased sex ratio at birth occurred in captive parous females. The male bias was previously demonstrated to be pre-conceptual and independent of the female's nutritional state. It was hypothesized to be related to changes in hormonal state at ovulation. METHODS and RESULTS: The relationship between urinary estradiol (E2) levels during the follicular phase until estrus and litter production (number and sex of newborns) was assessed in 91 females mated under controlled conditions. Changes in E2 levels prior to ovulation followed the typical primate pattern characterized by a gradual rise during the 10 days preceding the sharp increase at estrus. A clear decline in E2 levels occurred with ageing. Direction of the sex ratio bias was unrelated to E2 levels at ovulation time but was significantly dependent on E2 levels during the follicular phase. Reduced E2 levels prior to estrus led to male-biased litters. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that hormonal stimulation during the follicular phase plays a role in shifting sex ratio at conception through changes in the local environment of the ova. This hypothesis deserves testing by assessing estrogen levels throughout the follicular phase in other primate species including humans.

Key words: body condition/estrus cycle/maternal hormones/sex ratios/sperm selection


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
A. Cagnacci
Relationship between urinary estrogen levels before conception and sex ratio at birth in a primate, the gray mouse lemur
Hum. Reprod., December 1, 2005; 20(12): 3572 - 3573.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
M. Perret
Reply: Relationship between estrogen urinary levels before conception and sex ratio at birth in a primate, the gray mouse lemur
Hum. Reprod., December 1, 2005; 20(12): 3573 - 3573.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.