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Evidence from mosaic analysis of the mas ... in C elegans sex determination
Evidence from mosaic analysis of the masculinizing gene her-1 for cell interactions in C. elegans sex determination.
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Sex in Caenorhabditis elegans is determined by a regulatory cascade of seven interacting autosomal genes controlled by three X-linked genes in response to the X chromosome-to-autosome (X/A) ratio. XX animals (high X/A) develop as self-fertile hermaphrodites, and XO animals (low X/A) develop as males. The activity of the first gene in the sex-determining cascade, her-1, is required for male sexual development. XO her-1 loss-of-function mutants develop as self-fertile hermaphrodites, whereas XX her-1 gain-of-function mutants develop as masculinized intersexes. By genetic mosaic analysis using a fused free duplication linking her-1 to a cell-autonomous marker gene, we show here that her-1 expression in a sexually dimorphic cell is neither necessary nor sufficient for that cell to adopt a male fate. Our results suggest that her-1 is expressed in many, possibly all, cells and that its gene product can function non-autonomously through cell interactions to determine male sexual development.
Hunter CP, Wood WB
Nature
1992-02-06 00:00
355
6360
551-5
Animals,Caenorhabditis,Chromosome Mapping,Dosage Compensation, Genetic,Female,Gene Expression Regulation,Hermaphroditism,Male,Mosaicism,Mutation,Pedigree,Phenotype,Sex Determination (Analysis)
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309-0347
Nature
0028-0836
10.1038/355551a0
1319
True
1741033
