The Mus musculus domesticus Tdy allele acts later than the Mus musculus musculus Tdy allele: a basis for XY sex-reversal in C57BL/6-YPOS mice

Abstract

Consomic C57BL/6 males, carrying either the Mus musculus musculus-derived C57BL/6 Y chromosome or the Mus musculus domesticus-derived Poschiavinus Y chromosome, were outcrossed to females of the inbred strains C3H/Bi and CXBH/By and to females of the random bred strain MF1/Ola. In a study at 12.5 days post coitum, gonads of XYC57 and XYPOS fetuses were assessed for the presence of testicular cords. It was found that XYPOS fetuses had a later onset of testicular development than XYC57 fetuses. Limb development, which was monitored as a measure of overall development, was unaffected by the strain of Y present. These data were supported by a longitudinal study in which the increased growth rate of the testes relative to undifferentiated gonads, was also shown to be delayed in XYPOS fetuses. The extent of the delay was estimated to be approximately 14 h. It is concluded that this delay in the onset of testicular differentiation must be caused by differences between the two Y-chromosome types, most probably allelic differences in the testis determinant Tdy.