U.S.-Argentina Cooperative Science Program: Characterizationof Genes Involved in Sex Determination and Sex Reversal in Akodon (Cricetidae) Rodents

该奖项由美国-阿根廷合作科学计划颁发，支持由加州大学旧金山分校的Yun-Fai C. Lau博士和阿根廷拉普拉塔IMBICE的Nestor O. Bianchi博士进行的生物学研究。本项目主要研究啮齿动物的性别决定。该项目利用了这样一个事实，即南美洲Akodon属的几种啮齿动物具有一些特殊的性别决定机制，其中雌性在其核型中同时拥有X和Y染色体的比例失调。研究人员将对这些啮齿类动物进行研究，以研究哺乳动物的性别决定过程，并测试最近分离的几个睾丸候选基因是否参与决定Y染色体上的Y （Tdy）位点。该奖项将支持哺乳动物性别决定领域两位公认专家的合作努力。

This award from the U.S.- Argentina Cooperative Science Program supports research in biology to be conducted by Dr. Yun-Fai C. Lau of the University of California, San Francisco and Dr. Nestor O. Bianchi of IMBICE, La Plata, Argentina. The project focuses on the study of sex determination in Akodon rodents. The project takes advantage of the fact that several species of rodents from the Genus Akodon in South America possess some peculiar sex determination mechanisms in which there is a disproportion of females harboring both X and Y chromosomes in their karyotypes. These rodents will be studied to investigate the mammalian sex determination process and to test the involvements of several recently isolated candidate genes for the testis determining Y (Tdy) locus on the Y chromosome. The award will support a collaborative effort by two recognized experts in the field of mammalian sex determination.