High impact information on ANKRD15

• SOX9 expression was also activated during female-to-male sex reversal but appeared delayed relative to DMRT1 upregulation [1].
• DMRT1 is upregulated in the gonads during female-to-male sex reversal in ZW chicken embryos [1].
• Higher levels of DMRT1 expression during testis differentiation therefore do not simply reflect a gene dosage difference between the two sexes but imply active involvement in male development [1].
• These results show that testis development does not require two Z-linked copies of DMRT1, but it does involve active upregulation of the gene [1].
• Female-to-male sex-reversed embryos (genetically ZW) showed elevated levels of DMRT1 expression similar to those of normal males (with two copies of the Z chromosome) [1].

Biological context of ANKRD15

• Based on chromosome homology maps, we isolated a Z-linked chicken ortholog of DMRT1, which has been implicated in XY sex reversal in humans [2].
• DMRT1 is an avian Z-linked gene that shows higher expression in male gonads during embryogenesis and has been proposed as a putative testis-determining gene in birds [1].
• DMRT1 expression was analyzed by whole mount in situ hybridization and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (for mRNA) and indirect immunofluorescence (for protein) [1].
• Tuatara (Sphenodon) Genomics: BAC Library Construction, Sequence Survey, and Application to the DMRT Gene Family [3].

Anatomical context of ANKRD15

• Elevated levels of DMRT1 are therefore associated with testis development, both in normal males (ZZ) and in sex-reversed females (ZW) [1].

Other interactions of ANKRD15

• The up-regulation is concomitant with the beginning of SOX9 expression and a sex dimorphic level of DMRT1 transcripts [4].
• DMRT1 expression was analyzed in chicken embryos during experimentally induced female-to-male sex reversal, using the aromatase enzyme inhibitor fadrozole [1].

References