Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Non-invasive sexing of preimplantation stage mammalian embryos

Nature Genetics volume 19, pages 220–222 (1998)Cite this article

In many sexually reproducing organisms, the sex of offspring is determined by the random transmission of two heterologous sex chromosomes by the heterogametic sex (XY in male mammals, WZ in female birds). It has long been an interest to predetermine sex outcome, either before fertilization has taken place, or by sexing embryos at stages of development prior to implantation. Methodologies employed include the separation of sperm into X and Y chromosome-bearing populations followed by in vitro fertilization1, specific elimination of preimplantation stage male embryos by antibodies directed against a Y chromosome-specific surface antigen2, or embryo biopsy followed by measurement of X-linked gene dosage3, Barr body staining4, karyotyping5 or PCR-based6 assays. All reported methods used for sexing are either invasive or labour-intensive and often subject to error.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein of the jellyfish Aequoria victoria whose use as a cell marker in a heterologous system was first demonstrated in Caenorhabditis elegans7. Protein activity can be viewed in situ in living cells, circumventing sacrifice of the sample. As a consequence, GFP has become the reporter of choice in many different systems, from yeast8 to vertebrates9.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Expression of the D4/XEGFP transgene throughout the embryo proper.
Figure 2: Sexing litters of preimplantation and midgestational stage embryos.

References

  1. Hagele, W.C., Hare, W.C., Singh, E.L., Grylls, J.L. & Abt, D.A. Can. J. Comp. Med. 48, 294– 298 (1984).

    CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Utsumi, K., Satoh, E. & Iritani, A. J. Exp. Zoo. 260, 99–105 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Monk, M. & Handyside, A.H. J. Reprod. Fertil. 82, 365–368 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gardner, R.L. & Edwards, R.G. Nature 218, 346–349 (1968).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bacchus, C. & Buselmaier, W. Hum. Genet. 80, 333–336 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Gimenez, C., Egozcue, J. & Vidal, F. Hum. Reprod. 9, 2145–2149 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Chalfie, M., Tu, Y., Euskirchen, G., Ward, W.W. & Prasher, D.C. Science 263, 802– 805 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Nabeshima, K. et al. Genes Dev. 9, 1572–1585 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ikawa, M. et al. Dev. Growth Differ. 37, 455–459 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Pirity, M., Hadjantonakis, A.-K. & Nagy, A. in Cell Culture for Cell and Molecular Biologists (eds Mather, J.P. & Barnes, D.) 279–293 (Academic Press, San Diego, 1998).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Okabe, M., Ikawa, M., Kominami, K., Nakanishi, T. & Nishimune, Y. FEBS Lett. 407, 313– 319 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Tucker, K.L. et al. Genes Dev. 10, 1008 1020 ( 1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hadjantonakis, A.-K., Gertsenstein, M., Ikawa, M., Okabe, M. & Nagy A. Mech. Dev. (in press).

  14. Niwa, H., Yamamura, K. & Miyazaki, J. Gene 108, 193–199 ( 1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Gubbay, J. et al. Nature 346, 245–250 ( 1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Wright, W.E., Sassoon, D.A. & Lin, V.K. Cell 56, 607– 617 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank J. Rossant for support; T. McGill and M. Shackleton at Leica Canada for advice on GFP visualization. This work was funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. A.N. is an MRC/Bristol-Myers Squib scientist.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital , 600 University Avenue, Toronto, M5G 1X5, Ontario, Canada

    Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis, Marina Gertsenstein & Andras Nagy

  2. Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 1A8, Canada

    Andras Nagy

  3. Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University , Yamadoaka 3-1, Suita, Osaka, 565, Japan

    Masahito Ikawa & Masaru Okabe

Authors
  1. Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marina Gertsenstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masahito Ikawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Masaru Okabe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Andras Nagy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hadjantonakis, AK., Gertsenstein, M., Ikawa, M. et al. Non-invasive sexing of preimplantation stage mammalian embryos. Nat Genet 19, 220–222 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/893

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/893

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing