Open AccessSex determination in mammalian germ cells
Author(s) -
Cassy M. Spiller,
Josephine Bowles
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
asian journal of andrology/asian journal of andrology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1745-7262
pISSN - 1008-682X
DOI - 10.4103/1008-682x.150037
Subject(s) - somatic cell , biology , germ line development , meiosis , spermatogenesis , germ cell , microbiology and biotechnology , mitosis , oogenesis , germline , sperm , germ plasm , germ , oocyte , andrology , embryo , genetics , endocrinology , medicine , gene
Germ cells are the precursors of the sperm and oocytes and hence are critical for survival of the species. In mammals, they are specified during fetal life, migrate to the developing gonads and then undergo a critical period during which they are instructed, by the soma, to adopt the appropriate sexual fate. In a fetal ovary, germ cells enter meiosis and commit to oogenesis, whereas in a fetal testis, they avoid entry into meiosis and instead undergo mitotic arrest and mature toward spermatogenesis. Here, we discuss what we know so far about the regulation of sex-specific differentiation of germ cells, considering extrinsic molecular cues produced by somatic cells, as well as critical intrinsic changes within the germ cells. This review focuses almost exclusively on our understanding of these events in the mouse model.