The male pseudohermaphrodite XX polled goat is Zfy and Sry negative

The Polled mutation of the goat is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Homozygotes with a 60,XX karyotype develop into intersexes. We looked for the presence of Y-chromosomal sequences (Zfy and Sry) in a male pseudohermaphrodite polled goat by Southern blotting and PCR analysis. Molecular analysis revealed that this XX goat had no Sry sequence. It showed identical hybridization patterns, using the human SRY and ZFY probes at low stringency, with the normal XX female goat, whereas an XY male revealed prominent Sry and Zfy signals. Identical results were obtained from PCR analysis with the caprine Sry primers. The possible role of an autosomal recessive gene in the induction of testes and maleness is discussed.