Lindsey Barske

Pomona College, B.A. in Biology, 2004

Entered Duke 2006, Developmental Biology Training Program

Faculty advisor: Blanche Capel

While many developmental pathways are conserved across vertebrates, an unusual number of distinct sex determining mechanisms have been described. My research addresses whether the upstream sex determining cue in the red-eared slider turtle (egg incubation temperature) has the same functional readout as the mammalian cue (Sry); namely, whether it also affects the balance between Sox9 and β-catenin in the somatic cell lineage of the developing gonad. In the mouse, these cells choose a testicular or ovarian fate based on which factor becomes dominant at a particular developmental stage. In a related project, I am examining how Sox9 expression correlates with and directs medullary cord development in both species.