TRA-1 ChIP-seq reveals regulators of sexual differentiation and multilevel feedback in nematode sex determination

Sex-determining genes have been identified in many animals, but how they impose sex specificity on development is poorly understood. We ask how the nematode sex-determining transcription factor Transformer 1 (TRA-1) regulates sex by identifying where in the genome TRA-1 binds and which nearby genes may be affected by this binding. We find that TRA-1 promotes female development primarily by preventing the expression of genes involved in male development. Among the genes repressed by TRA-1 are a number that control the timing of developmental events and also several that function upstream of TRA-1 in the global sex-determination pathway. The suite of TRA-1 targets presented here provides a resource to continue uncovering the basis of sex-specific development