# Regulation of Sex-Specific Gonad Stem Cell Niche Development by Doublesex

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $365,597

## Abstract

Project Summary
Sex-specific development of the gonad stem cell systems regulated by Doublesex
Homologs of Drosophila Doublesex (Dsx), the Dsx-Mab3 Related Transcription Factors (DMRTs), are now
known to control gonad sexual dimorphism across the animal kingdom, from planaria and water fleas, to
worms, flies, mice and man. Male patients with deletions in the region of chromosome 9p22, and including
DMRT's 1-3, exhibit disorders of the genitalia and gonads including ovotestes, indicating that DMRTs are
essential for male gonad development in humans. Given the universal nature of DMRT involvement in gonad
sexual dimorphism, a key question becomes how do these transcription factors regulate this process and what
are their target genes? Here we propose to study these questions using both genomic and developmental
approaches. In particular, a developmental process of high interest is in the development of the male and
female stem cell systems. In mammals, this process is highly dimorphic as the testis has a stem cell system
but the ovary does not. However, in many animals, both the ovary and the testis have stem cell system since
both sexes need to produce large numbers of gametes for an extended period of life. These stem cell systems
are also highly dimorphic between the sexes. Further, gonads of many organisms have a somatic stem cell
(SSC) population in addition to the germline stem cells (GSCs), and the SSCs produce differentiating daughter
cells that nurture the developing gametes. Here, we propose to study how Dsx acts to control two key aspects
of the male and female stem cell systems, the male and female SSCs and the niche environments that control
them.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10212407
- **Project number:** 5R01GM113001-06
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark B Van Doren
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $365,597
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-04-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10212407

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10212407, Regulation of Sex-Specific Gonad Stem Cell Niche Development by Doublesex (5R01GM113001-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10212407. Licensed CC0.

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