文摘
Accurate genotyping of sex is required for correct interpretation in any in vivo assays with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Visible markers for genotypic sex, if reliable, simplify assays because time-consuming PCR-based genotyping can be skipped. Here, we describe a line of Japanese medaka with a brain-expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene inserted near the sex-determining locus. When used with a white pigment cell marker, genotypic sex can be determined reliably as early as 3 days after fertilization (well before gonadal sex differentiation). No recombinants were found in more than 2000 progenies. We also introduced a strong ovarian GFP marker into the line with these genetic sex markers, so that phenotypic sex can also be determined reliably at 8 days after hatching. Well-known sex reversal protocols using exogenous steroid treatments of embryos were monitored by this transgenic line, demonstrating the line to be a useful tool for in vivo studies utilizing gonadal sex differentiation of the medaka, especially for screenings of potential estrogenic and androgenic EDCs.