To be sperm, or not to be sperm?
Thursday, June 11, 2015 - 14:30
in Biology & Nature
Researchers have found, for the first time in vertebrates, a genetic switch that determines whether germ cells become sperm or eggs. The gene is named foxl3, and has been identified using a small fish called medaka. In medaka without this gene's functionality, surprisingly, sperm are produced in the ovaries of females.