Genes and Mechanisms in Vertebrate Sex Determination

by Gerd Scherer (Editor), Michael Schmid (Editor)

Overview

Following an opening chapter by the late Susumu Ohno on paralogues of sex-determining genes, the five best-studied genes essential for early mammalian gonadal development are portrayed in detail: SF-1 and WT1 and their roles in early events in gonadal development, SRY and SOX9 in testis determination, and the anti-testis gene DAX-1. Subsequent chapters look at the roles of these genes in sex determination in marsupial mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and review the different sex-determining mechanisms, genetic and environmental, that operate in these different vertebrate classes. Two insights emerge: one, that the same basic set of genes appears to operate during early gonadal development in all vertebrates, despite the differences in mechanisms; the other, that sex determination in vertebrates results from a complex network of regulatory interactions and not from a simple hierarchical cascade of gene actions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783034877817
Publisher:	Birkhäuser
Publication date:	04/17/2013
Series:	Experientia Supplementum , #91
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

Table of Contents

The one-to-four rule and paralogues of sex-determining genes.- Genes essential for early events in gonadal development.- Sry, Sox9 and mammalian sex determination.- DAX-1, an “antitestis” gene.- Sex chromosomes and sex determining genes: insights from marsupials and monotremes.- An overview of factors influencing sex determination and gonadal development in birds.- Temperature-dependent sex determination and gonadal differentiation in reptiles.- Sex chromosomes, sex-linked genes, and sex determination in the vertebrate class Amphibia.- Endocrine and environmental aspects of sex differentiation in gonochoristic fish.