Functional analysis of the SRY-KRAB interaction in mouse sex determination

JC Polanco; D Wilhelm; H Mizusaki; A Jackson; C Browne; T Davidson; V Harley; A Sinclair; P Koopman

Journal article

Functional analysis of the SRY-KRAB interaction in mouse sex determination

JC Polanco, D Wilhelm, H Mizusaki, A Jackson, C Browne, T Davidson, V Harley, A Sinclair, P Koopman

Biology of the Cell | WILEY | Published : 2009

DOI: 10.1042/BC20080061

Abstract

Background information. SRY (sex-determining region Y), the master regulator of male development in mammals, has been studied extensively for more than 17 years, but how the SRY protein triggers the chain of events leading to testis development remains unclear. SRY probably requires a partner protein to elicit its molecular function. KRAB-O, a novel protein containing a KRAB (Krüppel-associated box) domain only, was suggested recently as a candidate SRY partner. In order to investigate the possible role of KRAB-O in sex determination, we studied its expression and conducted functional assays of the SRY-KRAB interaction. Results. More than 100 KRAB genes were found to be expressed in mouse de..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Dagmar Wilhelm Author

Andrew Sinclair Author

Grants

Awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and the National Institutes of Health [grant number HD049431] J.C.P. is supported by the Institute for Molecular Bioscience postgraduate programme. P.K. is an Australian Research Council Federation Fellow.