The Mus musculus domesticus Tdy allele acts later than the Mus musculus musculus Tdy allele: a basis for XY sex-reversal in C57BL/6-Y mice

Consomic C57BL/6 males, carrying either the Mus musculus muscu/us-derived C57BL/6 Y chromosome or the Mus musculus domesticus-derived Poschiavinus Y chromosome, were outcrossed to females of the inbred strains C3H/Bi and CXBH/By and to females of the random bred strain MFl/Ola. In a study at 12.5 days post coitum, gonads of XY and XY fetuses were assessed for the presence of testicular cords. It was found that XY fetuses had a later onset of testicular development than XY fetuses. Limb development, which was monitored as a measure of overall development, was unaffected by the strain of Y present. These data were supported by a longitudinal study in which the increased growth rate of the testes relative to undifferentiated gonads, was also shown to be delayed in XY* fetuses. The extent of the delay was estimated to be approximately 14 h. It is concluded that this delay in the onset of testicular differentiation must be caused by differences between the two Y-chromosome types, most probably allelic differences in the testis determinant Tdy.