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Testis-Like Steroidogenesis in the Ovotestis of the European Mole, Talpa europaea¹

^a Departments of Integrative Biology and ^b Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 ^c Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, Scotland, United Kingdom

The female European mole (Talpa europaea) presents a vivid paradox in relation to our contemporary understanding of mammalian sexual differentiation. These animals are exceptional among female mammals in that they possess bilateral ovotestes. The ovotestis contains a morphologically normal ovarian component that develops during the spring breeding season and a histologically defined testicular region, the interstitial gland, which enlarges during autumn when the ovarian component decreases in size. In correlation with this unusual gonadal situation, the female mole displays a penile clitoris traversed by a urethral canal. Although the histology of the ovotestis is well documented and has recently been extended to an additional three species of the genus Talpa, there have been no clear indications of the physiological function, particularly androgen production, of the ovotestis in these female moles. This paper presents the first clear evidence of seasonal variation in plasma testosterone concentrations, which parallel the growth and regression of the "testicular" interstitial gland, in T. europaea. Plasma androstenedione did not show significant seasonal variation, but plasma testosterone (1.06 ± 0.2 ng/ml) and gonadal testosterone concentration (1.57 ± 0.65 µg/mg protein) in females in autumn were significantly higher (p < 0.02) than plasma (0.4 ± 0.2 ng/ml) and gonadal (0.24 ± 0.21 µg/mg) concentrations in pregnant or immediately postpartum females in spring. Our data also reveal selective metabolic production of testosterone from radiolabeled steroid precursors (progesterone and androstenedione) by these ovarian interstitial tissues and male testes; estradiol is produced by ovarian tissue but not interstitial gland or testis.

¹ Supported by grant MH-39917 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

² Correspondence: Deanne J. Whitworth, Department of Molecular Genetics Box 45, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. FAX: 713 794 4394; deanne_whitworth{at}molgen.mdacc.tmc.edu

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