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Scientists have altered DNA to turn a male into a female.
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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It is no secret that science is developing at a rapid pace. However, there is still a lot we do not know about our own bodies. For example, we have known since school that a pair of X chromosomes in the genome means that a girl will be born, and the presence of X and Y chromosomes indicates the birth of a boy. But do we know what processes control all this?
Recently, scientists began studying so-called "junk" DNA. The result surprised them: geneticists were able to change the sex of a rodent without affecting the sex chromosomes.
The discovery was made by a group of scientists led by the author of the research project Robin Lowell-Badge, a representative of the London Francis Crick Institute. The specialists determined that a pair of genes are responsible for stimulating the mechanism of sexual development: the Sox9 gene and the Sry gene. One of them forms subsequent sexual organs from parts of the sexual cell structures. The next gene is "switched on" after the complete formation of the embryo's sex. And then there's more: if Sry is damaged, the female embryo becomes a male.
The researchers did not stop there. Continuing the experiment, they discovered a section of "junk" DNA next to the Sox9 gene. This segment received its "name" - Enh13. Its property is to force cellular proteins to decipher the chromosomal part in which the Sox9 gene is located. This increases its active ability, launching the mechanism of development according to the male type.
After this, the scientists conducted an experiment, crossing a pair of rodents: the first individual had damaged Enh13, and the other had an intact one. As they developed, some embryos belonged to females, and others to males. The specialists limited the activity of the functioning Enh13 gene, after which all male representatives lost their male characteristics in the form of genitals: instead, female characteristics appeared. As a result, all the born rodents had female characteristics, despite the fact that at the beginning of pregnancy everything was the other way around.
Based on the results of the experiments, scientists concluded that most changes and disorders that affect the sexual development of mammals can be the result of mutations in the above-mentioned genes or in "junk" DNA. After all, not in all cases are sexual deviations from the norm caused by damage to the sexual cellular structures.
By the way, when speaking about "junk" DNA, scientists have always meant sequences of genomic DNA whose functions have not yet been determined. Recently, this issue has been studied especially carefully: specialists have managed to discover that about 92% of DNA, which were previously considered "junk", actually control the activity of active genes. Some of them determine cellular specificity, others are responsible for hereditary pathologies, etc.
The progress of the unusual study is described in the pages of the journal Science.
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