Figure 4

Expression of DHH, PTCH1 and PTCH2 in the tammar wallaby. a. RT-PCR for DHH, PTCH1 and PTCH2 in the tammar wallaby testis and ovary throughout development. DHH primers produce a band of 365 bp, PTCH1 primers produce a 130 bp product and PTCH2 primers produce a 330 bp product. d = day of fetal development from a 26.5 average gestation period. D0 = the day of birth. D = day of development post partum (pp). DHH expression was present at all time points during ovarian development. b-d. Quantitative PCR for DHH, PTCH1 and PTCH2. b. DHH was expressed at high levels in the developing gonads of both males and females (although it was lower in females overall). The lowest level of expression was observed in the adult ovary and the highest in the D4 male. Both PTCH1 (c) and PTCH2 (d) levels remained relatively consistent throughout gonad development. PTCH2 mRNA levels were always higher than PTCH1 in the gonads, and levels were consistently lowest for both genes in the adult ovary.