After their arrival in the fetal gonad, mammalian germ cells express E-cadherin and are found in large clusters, similar to germ cell cysts in Drosophila. In Drosophila, germ cells in cysts are connected by ring canals. Several molecular components of intercellular bridges in mammalian cells have been identified, including TEX14, a protein required for the stabilization of intercellular bridges...

During development, complex organs are formed from individual cells and simple tissues. Organogenesis is characterized by many cellular behaviors, including cell migration, modification of cell contacts, changes in cell shape, cell proliferation and cell death. Extensive communication between cells ensures that different cell types act together in a coordinated manner to form a properly pattern...

BACKGROUND The natural sex reversal severely affects the sex ratio and thus decreases the productivity of the rice field eel (Monopterus albus). How to understand and manipulate this process is one of the major issues for the rice field eel stocking. So far the genomics and transcriptomics data available for this species are still scarce. Here we provide a comprehensive study of transcriptomes ...

The formation of testes or ovaries in the mammalian embryo is critical in determining sexual identity and the ability to reproduce. Recent studies have begun to illuminate the cellular signalling events required for development of functional testes.

JANUARY 2009 I REVIEW OF ENDOCRINOLOGY I 19 C ushing’s syndrome is the clinical manifestation of glucocorticoid excess. When the most common cause, exogenous glucocorticoid intake, is excluded, one is left with a group of disorders in which a tumor (or rarely hyperplastic tissue) either produces excess cortisol or stimulates excess cortisol production indirectly through overproduction of either...

concentration levels of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs) consisting of naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorine, phenantherene, anthracene, fluor?anthene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)p?yrene, dibenzo(a,h)ant?hracene, indeno(1,2,3-cd) pyrene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene were measured in water and sediment samples coll...

Gonad morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans requires two secreted proteases. Recent studies show that alterations of the extracellular matrix component fibulin-1 rescue gonadogenesis in the absence of these proteases. This finding is a critical step toward understanding the role of extracellular matrix in organogenesis.

Animal genome engineering experimental procedures involve three major steps: isolation of zygotes from pregnant females; microinjection of zygotes, and; transfer of injected zygotes into recipient females, that have been practiced for over three decades. The laboratory set ups intending to performing these procedures require to have sophisticated equipment as well as highly skilled technical pe...

Sry is the only gene on the Y chromosome that is required for testis formation in mammals. One of the earliest morphological changes that occurs as a result of Sry expression is a size increase of the rudimentary XY gonad relative to the XX gonad. Using 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation to label dividing cells, we found that the size increase corresponds with a dramatic increase in ...

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 bot...