PMID- 29617407
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20180713
LR  - 20201214
IS  - 1932-6203 (Electronic)
IS  - 1932-6203 (Linking)
VI  - 13
IP  - 4
DP  - 2018
TI  - A novel method for determining sex in late term gestational mice based on the 
      external genitalia.
PG  - e0194767
LID - 10.1371/journal.pone.0194767 [doi]
LID - e0194767
AB  - In many experiments using fetal mice, it is necessary to determine the sex of the 
      individual fetus. However, other than genotyping for sex-specific genes, there is 
      no convenient, reliable method of sexing mice between gestational day (GD) 16.5 
      and GD 18.0. We designed a rapid, relatively simple visual method to determine 
      the sex of mouse fetuses in the GD 16.5-GD 18.0 range that can be performed as 
      part of a routine morphological assessment. By examining the genitalia for the 
      presence or absence of key features, raters with minimal experience with the 
      method were able to correctly identify the sex of embryos with 99% accuracy, 
      while raters with no experience were 95% accurate. The critical genital features 
      include: the presence or absence of urethral seam or proximal urethral meatus; 
      the shape of the genitalia, and the presence or absence of an area related to the 
      urethral plate. By comparing these morphological features of the external 
      genitalia, we show a simple, accurate, and fast way to determine the sex of late 
      stage mouse fetuses. Integrating this method into regular morphological 
      assessments will facilitate the determination of sex differences in fetuses 
      between GD 16.5 and GD 18.0.
FAU - Murdaugh, Laura B
AU  - Murdaugh LB
AD  - Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 
      North Carolina, United States of America.
FAU - Mendoza-Romero, Haley N
AU  - Mendoza-Romero HN
AD  - Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 
      North Carolina, United States of America.
FAU - Fish, Eric W
AU  - Fish EW
AD  - Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 
      North Carolina, United States of America.
FAU - Parnell, Scott E
AU  - Parnell SE
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-2038-6548
AD  - Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 
      North Carolina, United States of America.
AD  - Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel 
      Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
AD  - Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina, 
      Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
LA  - eng
GR  - P60 AA011605/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States
GR  - U01 AA021651/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States
GR  - P60-AA011605/NH/NIH HHS/United States
GR  - U01-AA021651/NH/NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20180404
PL  - United States
TA  - PLoS One
JT  - PloS one
JID - 101285081
RN  - 0 (SOX Transcription Factors)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Female
MH  - Genitalia/*anatomy & histology
MH  - Genotype
MH  - Gestational Age
MH  - Male
MH  - Mice
MH  - Mice, Inbred C57BL
MH  - Photography
MH  - Pregnancy
MH  - SOX Transcription Factors/genetics/metabolism
MH  - Sex Determination Analysis/*methods
PMC - PMC5884523
COIS- Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
EDAT- 2018/04/05 06:00
MHDA- 2018/07/14 06:00
PMCR- 2018/04/04
CRDT- 2018/04/05 06:00
PHST- 2017/10/17 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2018/03/09 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2018/04/05 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2018/04/05 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2018/07/14 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2018/04/04 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - PONE-D-17-37217 [pii]
AID - 10.1371/journal.pone.0194767 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - PLoS One. 2018 Apr 4;13(4):e0194767. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194767. 
      eCollection 2018.