Gonad Differentiation Genetics

Abstract

The manner in which the indifferent embryonic gonad is induced to become testis or ovary is a prime question in developmental biology, and may have more general relevance for ontogeny as a whole. Identification of a pathway of sex-determining genes and their products will provide useful insights into the nature of sex differentiation and the various syndromes of abnormal gonadal development, as well as new approaches to the diagnosis and study of these conditions. Differentiation of the gonad is the key event leading to development of the sex phenotype. In males, this event is governed by the Y chromosome testis-determining gene, and other, recently discovered, X-linked and autosomal genes. In females, in the absence of the Y chromosome, alternative pathways are set in motion.