GENETIC-MAPPING OF THE AUTOSOMAL REGION INVOLVED IN XX SEX-REVERSAL AND HORN DEVELOPMENT IN GOATS

Contrary to other genetic disorders, the genetic study of sex determin ation anomalies in humans stumbles over the difficulty in observing la rge pedigrees. In goats, abnormalities in sex determination are intima tely linked to a dominant Mendelian gene coding for the ''polled'' (ho rnless) character, which could render this species an interesting anim al model for the rare human cases of SRY-negative XX males. In this re port, we describe genetic linkage between the polled/intersex synchome (PIS) and four microsatellite markers of the distal region of goat Ch romosome 1 (CHI1), quite distinct from the bovine ''polled'' region. A ccording to comparative mapping data, no sex-determining gene has been described so far in homologous regions in the human. This genetic loc alization constitutes a first step towards identifying a new autosomal sex-determining gene in mammals.