title: Sexy splicing: regulatory interplays governing sex determination from Drosophila to mammals.
abstract: A remarkable array of strategies is used to produce sexual differentiation in different species. Complex gene hierarchies govern sex determination pathways, as exemplified by the classic D. melanogaster paradigm, where an interplay of transcriptional, splicing and translational mechanisms operate. Molecular studies support the hypothesis that genetic sex determination pathways evolved in reverse order, from downstream to upstream genes, in the cascade. The recent identification of a role for the key regulatory factors SRY and WT1(+KTS) in pre-mRNA splicing indicates that important steps in the mammalian sex determination process are likely to operate at the post-transcriptional level.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Louis Pasteur, B P 163, 67404 Illkirch, Strasbourg, France. ninino@igbmc.u-strasburg.fr
authors.forename: Enzo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lalli
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohe
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Latorre
authors.forename: Marco E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sassone-Corsi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics; D005809:Genes, Regulator / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012326:RNA Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025721:WT1 Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C497745:SRY protein, human; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025721:WT1 Proteins