Summary: Kuroki et al. (2013)

The interaction between transcription factor function and epigenetic status, which includes histone modification, defines developmental gene expression. Mammalian sex determination is influenced by various transcription factors, but the epigenetic regulation of this process is still unclear. Kuroki et al. (2013) studied sex reversal (male to female) in mice that lacked a particular enzyme - H3K9 demethylase Jmjd1a. They found that this enzyme regulates the expression of Sry gene, which is the mammalian Y chromosome sex-determining gene. Kuroki et al. (2013) showed that Jmdj1a directly controls Sry expression in a positive manner through its regulation of H3K9me2 marks. Their study demonstrates the important role that histone demethylation plays in mammalian sex determination.