Transformer (tra) is a family of genes which regulate
sex determination in insects such as flies. Among its effects, it () regulates differences between males and females in ''
Drosophila
''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or p ...
'' fruit flies.
The tra-2 gene () is needed for
sexual differentiation
Sexual differentiation is the process of development of the sex differences between males and females from an undifferentiated zygote. Sex differentiation is usually distinct from sex determination; sex determination is the designation of the de ...
in female fruit flies, and for
spermatogenesis
Spermatogenesis is the process by which haploid spermatozoa develop from germ cells in the seminiferous tubules of the testicle. This process starts with the Mitosis, mitotic division of the stem cells located close to the basement membrane of ...
in the males. It is not in the same
protein family
A protein family is a group of evolutionarily related proteins. In many cases, a protein family has a corresponding gene family, in which each gene encodes a corresponding protein with a 1:1 relationship. The term "protein family" should not be ...
as ''tra'', but instead works together with it in the splicing enhancer complex.
References
{{reflist
Eukaryote genes
Sex-determination systems