The chromosomal signal for sex determination in Caenorhabditis elegans

In Caenorhabditis elegans, sex is determined by the number of X chromosomes which, in turn, determines the expression of the X‐linked gene xol‐1. Recent work(1) has shown that xol‐1 expression is controlled by least two distinct regulatory mechanisms, one transcriptional and another post‐transcriptional. The transcriptional regulator is a repressor acting in XX embryos; although the specific gene has not been identified, the chromosome region has been defined. A previously defined regulator of xol‐1, known as fox‐1, maps to a different region of the X chromosome and works post‐transcriptionally, consistent with the identification of the fox‐1 gene product as a putative RNA binding protein(2).