PITX2 controls asymmetric gonadal development in both sexes of the chick and can rescue the degeneration of the right ovary.

PITX2 controls asymmetric gonadal development in both sexes of the chick and can rescue the degeneration of the right ovary. Research Abstract Details 

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PITX2 controls asymmetric gonadal development in both sexes of the chick and can rescue the degeneration of the right ovary. Abstract Text:

Silvana Guioli,Robin Lovell-Badge,Silvana Guioli,Robin Lovell-Badge,

The gonads arise on the ventromedial surface of each mesonephros. In most birds, female gonadal development is unusual in that only the left ovary becomes functional, whereas that on the right degenerates during embryogenesis. Males develop a pair of equally functional testes. We show that the chick gonads already have distinct morphological and molecular left-right (L-R) characteristics in both sexes at indifferent (genital ridge) stages and that these persist, becoming more elaborate during sex determination and differentiation, but have no consequences for testis differentiation. We find that these L-R differences depend on the L-R asymmetry pathway that controls the situs of organs such as the heart and gut. Moreover, a key determinant of this, Pitx2, is expressed asymmetrically, such that it is found only in the left gonad in both sexes from the start of their development. Misexpression of Pitx2 on the right side before and during gonadogenesis is sufficient to transform the right gonad into a left-like gonad. In ZW embryos, this transformation rescues the degenerative fate of the right ovary, allowing for the differentiation of left-like cortex containing meiotic germ cells. There is therefore a mechanism in females that actively promotes the underlying L-R asymmetry initiated by Pitx2 and the degeneration of the right gonad, and a mechanism in males that allows it to be ignored or overridden.

PITX2 controls asymmetric gonadal development in both sexes of the chick and can rescue the degeneration of the right ovary. Publishing Authors By Initials

S Guioli,R Lovell-Badge,S Guioli,R Lovell-Badge,

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PITX2 controls asymmetric gonadal development in both sexes of the chick and can rescue the degeneration of the right ovary. Journal Published:

PUBLICATION TYPE: Journal Article

Journal: Development (Cambridge, England)

VOLUME: 134

Page Numbers: 4199-208

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ISSN: 0950-1991

DAY: 24

MONTH: 10

YEAR: 2007

PITX2 controls asymmetric gonadal development in both sexes of the chick and can rescue the degeneration of the right ovary. Information

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LANGUAGE: eng

NlmUniqueID: 8701744

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AFFILIATION: Division of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK.

Country: England

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MEDLINETA: Development

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