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Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Determination of Reproductive Competence by Confirming Pubertal Onset and Performing a Fertility Assay in Mice and Rats
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Sex ratio trajectory in mouse.

Ashutosh Halder1, Isha Chaudhary1, Manish Jain1

  • 1Department of Reproductive Biology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.

Reproductive Biology
|May 28, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals that female embryos and fetuses are selectively eliminated during pregnancy in mice, leading to a male-biased sex ratio at birth. A high-fat diet exacerbates this selective elimination of female embryos.

Keywords:
At birthHigh fat dietPost implantationPreimplantationSex ratio

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Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Mammalian Genetics

Background:

  • Human populations exhibit a skewed sex ratio favoring males at birth.
  • Potential explanations include preferential fertilization by Y-chromosome-bearing sperm or selective elimination of female embryos during gestation.
  • Understanding the precise stage and mechanisms of sex ratio skewing is crucial for reproductive health research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the biological basis of sex ratio skewing in a homogenous mouse population.
  • To determine whether male preference occurs at fertilization or involves selective elimination of female embryos during pregnancy.
  • To examine the influence of dietary fat content on the sex ratio at different developmental stages.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed the primary sex ratio in early preimplantation embryos (2-3 cells stage) using PCR-based sexing.
  • Determined the secondary sex ratio at birth (postnatal pups) via PCR-based sexing.
  • Analyzed the sex ratio of post-implantation embryos (day E7.5).
  • Investigated the effects of high-fat and low-fat diets on sex ratios.

Main Results:

  • A female-biased sex ratio was observed in preimplantation (0.436) and post-implantation (0.462) embryos.
  • A male-biased sex ratio was found at birth (0.539).
  • High-fat diets significantly promoted a male sex ratio at birth (0.657), while low-fat diets resulted in a female-biased ratio (0.46).
  • Dietary fat content did not affect the sex ratio at the fertilization stage (2-3 cells embryos).

Conclusions:

  • The study indicates selective elimination of female embryos and fetuses throughout pregnancy in mice.
  • Dietary fat content plays a significant role in modulating the sex ratio, particularly by enhancing the elimination of female fetuses.
  • These findings suggest that factors influencing embryonic and fetal survival, rather than fertilization preference, are key drivers of sex ratio skewing in this model.