Jian-Kang Liu： A pioneer of sex determination studies in vertebrates

Sixty-eight years ago, Dr. W.S. Bullough, a Fellow of the Royal Society, published an article ＂Hermaphroditism in the lower vertebrates＂ in Nature （Bullough, 1947） and thereby commented a significant finding in lower vertebrate sex mechanism fulfilled by a young Chinese scholar Jian-Kang Liu （刘健康, C.K. Liu） （Fig. 1 ）. At the beginning of the article, Dr. Bullough respectfully acknowledged that： ＂By the publi- cation in 1944 of a description of the gonads of Monopterus javanensis Lac. （Symbranchii; Teleostei） （Liu, 1944a）, Liu has furnished new and interesting evidence concerning the mechanism of sex determination in the lower vertebrates, and has opened a fresh field for research into this subject＂ （Bullough, 1947）.