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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.
List 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.
About the author
Dr. Michael Schmid ist Professor für Allgemeine Soziologie an der Universität der Bundeswehr München.
Summary
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.
