Genetic differences between C57BL/6 substrains affect the process of testis differentiation in Y mice.

C57BL/6J-XY (B6J-XY) mice, which have the Y chromosome derived from Mus musculus poschiavinus on a B6J genetic background, form ovotestes or ovaries. Previously, we replaced the genetic background of B6J-XY mice with B6N and found that individuals with testes also appeared in addition to those with ovaries or ovotestes. To investigate the effect of the B6J genetic sequence on the testis differentiation, the genetic background of B6N-XY mice was replaced with B6J again. The recovery of the B6J genetic background significantly decreased the incidence of testes; only ovaries developed. These results indicate that the testicular differentiation process tends to be perturbed especially in the B6J substrain. This shows the importance of substrain differences in mice usually treated as B6 collectively.