Ovarian development in mice requires the GATA4-FOG2 transcription complex

We have demonstrated previously that mammalian sexual differentiation requires both the GATA4 and FOG2 transcriptional regulators to assemble the functioning testis. Here we have determined that the sexual development of female mice is profoundly affected by the loss of GATA4-FOG2 interaction. We have also identified the Dkk1 gene, which encodes a secreted inhibitor of canonical -catenin signaling, as a target of GATA4-FOG2 repression in the developing ovary. The tissue-specific ablation of the -catenin gene in the gonads disrupts female development. In Gata4^ki/ki; Dkk1^-/- or Fog2^-/-; Dkk1^-/- embryos, the normal ovarian gene expression pattern is partially restored. Control of ovarian development by the GATA4-FOG2 complex presents a novel insight into the cross-talk between transcriptional regulation and extracellular signaling that occurs in ovarian development.