Mammalian sex reversal and intersexuality: deciphering the sex-determination cascade.
The sex-determination cascade constitutes a model of the exquisite mechanisms of gene regulation that lead to the development of mammalian embryos. The discovery of the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome (SRY) in the early 1990s was the first crucial step towards a general understanding of sex determination. Since then, several genes that encode proteins with a role in this cascade, such as WT1, SF-1, SOX9, DAX-1 and WNT4, have been identified. Many of the interactions between these proteins have still to be elucidated, while, no-doubt, others are still to be identified. The study of mammalian intersexes forms a promising way towards the identification of the still-missing genes and a comprehensive view of mammalian sex determination. Intersexuality in the goat, studied for over a century, will, presumably, bring to light new genes involved in the female sex-determination pathway.
Vaiman
D
D
Laboratoire de Génétique Biochimique et de Cytogénétique, Département de Génétique Animale, INRA Centre de Recherches de Jouy-en-Josas, 78352, Jouy-en-Josas, France. vaiman@biotec.jouy.inra.fr
Pailhoux
E
E
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics*; D019849:Sex Determination Processes