Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027960 (mole)
 21,279 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In mammals, germ cells are important both during development and for the function of female gonads, whereas male gonads may develop in the absence of germ cells. The gonads of female moles (genus Talpa) develop according to a testis-like pattern which results in the formation of ovotestes. In this paper, we studied the expression pattern of several pre-meiotic and meiotic germ cell markers, in order to establish the precise time of meiosis onset in the mole species T. occidentalis, and to investigate the location and possible role of germ cells in ovotestis organogenesis. Our results evidenced that: (1) the asymmetrical distribution of primordial germ cells, which concentrate in the cortex of the XX gonad, is brought about by germ cell depletion from the medulla between the s5a and s5b stages, (2) XX germ cells enter meiosis postnatally, which is quite exceptional among eutherian mammals, and (3) XX but not XY germ cells of moles express DMRT1 during premeiotic stages of development, an expression pattern not described previously in vertebrates.
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PMID:Meiosis onset is postponed to postnatal stages during ovotestis development in female moles. 1839 17

Most testicular features undergo major circannual variation in seasonal breeding species. Although the ultimate cause of these variations is known to be the photoperiod in most cases, very little is known about the genetic mechanisms by which these changes are modulated in the testis. Many genes involved in testis development are known to be expressed in the adult testis as well. Since these genes encode genetic regulatory factors, it is reasonable to suspect that they could play some role in the control of the adult testis function. Using immunological detection techniques and RT-Q-PCR, we have studied the spatio-temporal expression pattern of WT1, SF1, SOX9, AMH, and DMRT1 in 4 representative stages of the circannual cycle of the testes of Talpa occidentalis, a mole species with strict seasonal reproduction. AMH is not expressed at any stage of the cycle, showing that inactive adult testes are functionally different from pre-pubertal, juvenile ones. The continuous presence of primary spermatocytes may explain the permanent repression of AMH in the mole testis. WT1 and SF1 are down-regulated and SOX9 is up-regulated in regressed mole testes, suggesting that the modulation of the expression of these genes may be involved in the control of circannual gonad variation. Furthermore, SOX9 and DMRT1 show clear spermatogenic stage-dependent expression patterns. Both genes are expressed more intensely during the proliferative stages of spermatogonia, although SOX9 expression is limited to Sertoli cells, whereas DMRT1 is expressed in both Sertoli and spermatogonial cells. Available data suggest that intratesticular levels of testosterone could regulate circannual spermatogenic variations of seasonal breeders by modulating the expression of DMRT1 to control spermatogonial proliferation.
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PMID:Expression of genes controlling testicular development in adult testis of the seasonally breeding iberian mole. 2141 37