Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School and College of Biological Sciences have discovered a gene that is required to maintain male sex throughout life.
The research team, led by David Zarkower and Vivian Bardwell of the University of Minnesota's department of genetics, cell biology, and development, found that removing an important male development gene, called Dmrt1, causes male cells in mouse testes to become female cells....
"Scientists have long assumed that once the sex determination decision is made in the embryo, it's final," Zarkower said. "We have now discovered that when Dmrt1 is lost in mouse testes — even in adults — many male cells become female cells and the testes show signs of becoming more like ovaries."
