The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, shows that blocking this gene prevents the development of testes and causes the growth of female sex organs, regardless of the presence of the Y chromosome

Gadd45 gene family is comprised of the a, b and g. Various experiments have silenced each and their different combinations in pairs. CSIC researcher at the National Center for Biotechnology Jesus Savior, who led the research, said: "The results indicate that GADD45G is the only family member who has a key role in sex determination and testis development" . For the researcher of the CSIC was "surprising to find that in his absence all the baby mice were phenotypically female but by possessing the Y chromosome were genetically male."

GADD45G is a positive regulator of the SRY gene, located on chromosome Y. According to the study, absence of GADD45G prevents the expression of SRY, slowing down the development of the male gonads.

Less than one in every 4,500 newborns in the world is abnormal sexual differentiation. The low frequency of diseases categorized as rare. They are caused by different disturbances during some stage of fetal development. Salvador explains that although some mutations have been described related to these pathologies, most of them do not have a definite diagnosis.

For the researcher of the CSIC, "identification GADD45G plays key role in embryonic sexual development can be very important to clarify the aetiology of such diseases."

Research has enjoyed the cooperation of the National Center for Cardiovascular Research and the University Complutense of Madrid.

Fotografía By Courtesy: National Human Genome Research Institute ([1] (file)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons