|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
Development, Vol 125, Issue 8 1487-1494, Copyright © 1998 by Company of Biologists
JOURNAL ARTICLES |
M Meise, D Hilfiker-Kleiner, A Dubendorfer, C Brunner, R Nothiger and D Bopp
Zoological Institute, University of Zurich-Irchel, Zurich, Switzerland.
Sex-lethal (Sxl) is the master switch gene for somatic sex determination in Drosophila melanogaster. In XX animals, Sxl becomes activated and imposes female development; in X(Y) animals, Sxl remains inactive and male development ensues. A switch gene for sex determination, called F, has also been identified in the housefly, Musca domestica. An active F dictates female development, while male development ensues when F is inactive. To test if the switch functions of Sxl and F are founded on a common molecular basis, we isolated the homologous Sxl gene in the housefly. Though highly conserved in sequence, Musca-Sxl is not sex-specifically regulated: the same transcripts and protein isoforms are expressed in both male and female animals throughout development. Musca-Sxl is apparently not controlled by the primary sex-determining signal and, thus, is unlikely to correspond to the F gene. Ectopic expression of Musca-SXL protein in Drosophila does not exert any noticeable effects on the known target genes of endogenous Sxl. Instead, forced overexpression of the transgene eventually results in lethality of both XY and XX animals and in developmental abnormalities in some escaper XY animals. Similar results were obtained with the Sxl homologue of Ceratitis capitata (Saccone, G., Peluso, I., Artiaco, D. , Giodano, E., Bopp, D. and Polito, L. C. (1998) Development 125, 1495-1500) suggesting that, in these non-drosophilid species, Sxl performs a function different from that in sex determination.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Cho, Z. Y. Huang, and J. Zhang Sex-Specific Splicing of the Honeybee doublesex Gene Reveals 300 Million Years of Evolution at the Bottom of the Insect Sex-Determination Pathway Genetics, November 1, 2007; 177(3): 1733 - 1741. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. A. Gailey, J.-C. Billeter, J. H. Liu, F. Bauzon, J. B. Allendorfer, and S. F. Goodwin Functional Conservation of the fruitless Male Sex-Determination Gene Across 250 Myr of Insect Evolution Mol. Biol. Evol., March 1, 2006; 23(3): 633 - 643. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Scali, F. Catteruccia, Q. Li, and A. Crisanti Identification of sex-specific transcripts of the Anopheles gambiae doublesex gene J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2005; 208(19): 3701 - 3709. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Pane, A. De Simone, G. Saccone, and C. Polito Evolutionary Conservation of Ceratitis capitata transformer Gene Function Genetics, October 1, 2005; 171(2): 615 - 624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Serna, E. Gorab, M. F. Ruiz, C. Goday, J. M. Eirin-Lopez, and L. Sanchez The Gene Sex-lethal of the Sciaridae Family (Order Diptera, Suborder Nematocera) and Its Phylogeny in Dipteran Insects Genetics, October 1, 2004; 168(2): 907 - 921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Pomiankowski, R. Nothiger, and A. Wilkins The Evolution of the Drosophila Sex-Determination Pathway Genetics, April 1, 2004; 166(4): 1761 - 1773. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Louis, L. Holm, L. Sanchez, and M. Kaufman A Theoretical Model for the Regulation of Sex-lethal, a Gene That Controls Sex Determination and Dosage Compensation in Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, November 1, 2003; 165(3): 1355 - 1384. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. O. F. Penalva and L. Sanchez RNA Binding Protein Sex-Lethal (Sxl) and Control of Drosophila Sex Determination and Dosage Compensation Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., September 1, 2003; 67(3): 343 - 359. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Inoue, Y. Muto, H. Sakamoto, and S. Yokoyama NMR studies on functional structures of the AU-rich element-binding domains of Hu antigen C Nucleic Acids Res., April 15, 2000; 28(8): 1743 - 1750. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. F. McAllister and G. A. T. McVean Neutral Evolution of the Sex-Determining Gene transformer in Drosophila Genetics, April 1, 2000; 154(4): 1711 - 1720. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C Schutt and R Nothiger Structure, function and evolution of sex-determining systems in Dipteran insects Development, January 2, 2000; 127(4): 667 - 677. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Waterbury, L. L. Jackson, and P. Schedl Analysis of the Doublesex Female Protein in Drosophila melanogaster: Role in Sexual Differentiation and Behavior and Dependence on Intersex Genetics, August 1, 1999; 152(4): 1653 - 1667. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. Marín and B. S. Baker The Evolutionary Dynamics of Sex Determination Science, September 25, 1998; 281(5385): 1990 - 1994. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Dübendorfer and M. Hediger The Female-Determining Gene F of the Housefly, Musca domestica, Acts Maternally to Regulate Its Own Zygotic Activity Genetics, September 1, 1998; 150(1): 221 - 226. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Erickson and T. Cline Key aspects of the primary sex determination mechanism are conserved across the genus Drosophila Development, January 8, 1998; 125(16): 3259 - 3268. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G Saccone, I Peluso, D Artiaco, E Giordano, D Bopp, and L. Polito The Ceratitis capitata homologue of the Drosophila sex-determining gene sex-lethal is structurally conserved, but not sex-specifically regulated Development, January 4, 1998; 125(8): 1495 - 1500. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
