Hens, cocks and avian sex determination - A quest for genes on Z or W?

The sex of an individual is generally determined genetically by genes on one of the two sex chromosomes. In mammals, for instance, the presence of the male-specific Y chromosome confers maleness, whereas in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans it is the number of X chromosomes that matters. For birds (males ZZ, females ZW), however, the situation remains unclear. The recent discovery that the Z-linked DMRT1 gene, which is conserved across phyla as a gene involved in sexual differentiation, is expressed early in male development suggests that it might be the number of Z chromosomes that regulate sex in birds. On the other hand, the recent identification of the first protein unique to female birds, encoded by the W-linked PKCIW gene, and the observation that it is expressed early in female gonads, suggests that the W chromosome plays a role in avian sexual differentiation. Clearly defining the roles of the DMRT1 and PKC1W genes in gonadal development, and ultimately determining whether avian sex is dependent on Z or W, will require transgenic experiments.