Trpv4 links environmental temperature to testicular differentiation in hermaphroditic ricefield eel.

Trpv4 mediates environmental temperature effects on testicular differentiation in ricefield eel, with 50% of gonadal transformation linked to Trpv4 activity.

• Why it matters: Understanding how environmental factors influence sex determination is crucial for aquaculture and conservation, especially in species with natural sex change like ricefield eel.
• What they did: Researchers examined Trpv4's role by manipulating its activity in vivo and in vitro, measuring gene expression changes related to male and female pathways, and analyzing downstream signaling pathways.
• The result: Findings reveal that Trpv4 activates pStat3 and Kdm6b, promoting male gene expression in ovaries under warm temperatures, enabling potential control of sex differentiation in aquaculture.