Male, female sex cell determination requires lifelong maintenance, protection

The way in which the sex of an organism is determined may require lifelong maintenance, finds new research. Sex-specific transcription factors perform lifelong work to maintain sexual determination and protect against reprogramming of cells from one sex to the other. Using a mouse model, researchers found the sex of gonadal cells -- those found in the ovaries or testes -- require maintenance throughout life. This research also showed loss of a single transcription factor can result in the transf...