DMRT1 is a testis-determining gene in rabbits and is also essential for female fertility

• Published in: eLife 2023-10, Vol.12
• Main Authors: Dujardin, Emilie, André, Marjolaine, Dewaele, Aurélie, Mandon-Pépin, Béatrice, Poulat, Francis, Frambourg, Anne, Thépot, Dominique, Jouneau, Luc, Jolivet, Geneviève, Pailhoux, Eric, Pannetier, Maëlle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Life Sciences; Reproductive Biology
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/eLife.89284.3

DMRT1 is the testis-determining factor in several species of vertebrates, but its involvement in mammalian testes differentiation, where SRY is the testis-determining gene, remains ambiguous. So far, DMRT1 loss-of-function has been described in two mammalian species and induces different phenotypes: Disorders of Sex Development (46, XY DSD) in men and male infertility in mice. We thus abolished DMRT1 expression by CRISPR/Cas9 in a third species of mammal, the rabbit. First, we observed that gonads from XY DMRT1 −/− rabbit fetuses differentiated like ovaries, highlighting that DMRT1 is involved in testis determination. In addition to SRY, DMRT1 is required in the supporting cells to increase the expression of the SOX9 gene, which heads the testicular genetic cascade. Second, we highlighted another function of DMRT1 in the germline since XX and XY DMRT1 −/− ovaries did not undergo meiosis and folliculogenesis. XX DMRT1 −/− adult females were sterile, showing that DMRT1 is also crucial for female fertility. To conclude, these phenotypes indicate an evolutionary continuum between non-mammalian vertebrates such as birds and non-rodent mammals. Furthermore, our data support the potential involvement of DMRT1 mutations in different human pathologies, such as 46, XY DSD as well as male and female infertility. Animals that reproduce sexually have organs called gonads, the ovaries and testes, which produce eggs and sperm. These organs, which are different in males and females, originate from the same cells during the development of the embryo. As a general rule, the chromosomal sex of an embryo, which gets determined at fertilization, leads to the activation and repression of specific genes. This in turn, controls whether the cells that will form the gonads will differentiate to develop testes or ovaries. Disruption of the key genes involved in the differentiation of the gonads can lead to fertility problems, and in some cases, it can cause the gonads to develop in the ‘opposite’ direction, resulting in a sex reversal. Identifying these genes is therefore essential to know how to maintain or restore fertility. DMRT1 is a gene that drives the differentiation of gonadal cells into the testicular pathway in several species of animals with backbones, including species of fish, frogs and birds. However, its role in mammals – where testis differentiation is driven by a different gene called SRY – is not well understood. Indeed, when DMRT1 is disrupted in male humans it le