Feedback Control of Sex Determination by Dosage Compensation Revealed through Caenorhabditis Elegans Sdc-3 Mutations
AUTOR(ES)
DeLong, L.
RESUMO
In Caenorhabditis elegans, sex determination and dosage compensation are coordinately controlled through a group of genes that respond to the primary sex determination signal. Here we describe a new gene, sdc-3, that also controls these processes. In contrast to previously described genes, the sex determination and dosage compensation activities of sdc-3 are separately mutable, indicating that they function independently. Paradoxically, the sdc-3 null phenotype fails to reveal the role of sdc-3 in sex determination: sdc-3 null mutations that lack both activities disrupt dosage compensation but cause no overt sexual transformation. We demonstrate that the dosage compensation defect of sdc-3 null alleles suppresses their sex determination defect. This self-suppression phenomenon provides a striking example of how a disruption in dosage compensation can affect sexual fate. We propose that the suppression occurs via a feedback mechanism that acts at an early regulatory step in the sex determination pathway to promote proper sexual identity.
ACESSO AO ARTIGO
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1205407Documentos Relacionados
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