International Mammalian Genome Society

18th International Mouse Genome Conference

17-22 October 2004, Seattle, USA

Plenary Presentations * Oral Presentations * Poster Abstracts * Photos
Verne Chapman Memorial Lecture * Table of Contents * Attendees * Awards

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ORAL PRESENTATION

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20

9.30am – 9.45am

POLYGENY, IMPRINTING, AND MATERNAL EFFECT MODIFY SEX DETERMINATION IN ODD SEX (ODS) MICE

Poirier C¹, Qin Y¹, Adams CP¹, Anaya Y¹, Moran JL², Beier DR², Nadeau JH³, Bishop CE¹

¹ Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States, ² Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States,

³ Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States

The transgenic insertional mouse mutation Odd sex (Ods) represents a model for the long-range regulation of Sox9. The mutation causes complete female to male sex reversal by inducing a male specific expression pattern of Sox9 in XX Ods/+ embryonic gonads. We previously described an A/J strain specific suppressor of Ods termed Odsm1^A. Here we show that phenotypic sex depends on a complex interaction between the suppressor and the transgene. Suppression can only be achieved if the transgene is transmitted paternally. In addition, the suppressor itself exhibits a maternal effect suggesting that it may act on chromatin in the early embryo. Finally, the genetic background, itself, modulates sex determination.