Gonadal sex reversal at single-cell resolution in Znrf3-deficient mice

Early gonadal-mesonephros tissues give rise to the developing gonad, with potential to diverge towards either a testis or ovarian gonadal fate. ZNRF3 mutant homozygotic mice develop a variable sex reversal previously uncharacterised at the single cell level. We used scRNA-Seq to compare XX and XY WT C57BL/6J mouse gonads to ZNRF3-deficient mice across multiple timepoints, during and after initial sex determination. C57BL/6J mouse gonads were dissected away from the mesonephros at 11.5, 12.5 and 14.5 dpc for XX WT, XY WT and XY ZNRF3-deficient mice, and isolated for analysis via scRNA-Seq. Gonadal tissue at 14.5 dpc could further be phenotyed as ovarian, testis, or ovotestis.