Category Archives: Sertoli Cells

Back crosses of M. musculus domesticus originated in Tirano, Italy (B6.Ytir), were used to study the time course expression of the Sox9 gene and its product in developing gonads. About half the embryos of each litter formed ovo-testis, whereas the other half formed ovaries as expected. Although in this strain the onset of Sry expression occurs normally, it lasts longer, suggesting that the male-determining cascade is modified in some way in the genital ridges of B6.Ytir embryos. We asked if failure to develop normal testes is at the level of Sox9, a gene that closely follows downstream of Sry expression and can substitute the role of Sry for complete testis differentiation. (more…)