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IDENTIFICATION AND CLONING OF A PUTATIVE GENE CONTROLLING
"MALE-TYPE" BEHAVIOR

INTRODUCTION:
      The alleged "insensitivity of men has been a thorn in the
side of women for many, many years.  It has manifested itself in
a number of ways including the seeming inability of the male to
lower the toilet seat following vertical urination.  We embarked
on a quest to identify the INS gene, which we speculated would
be a Y-chromosome-encoded DNA binding protein that could
selectively turn on a number of other behavior-modifying genes.

METHODS:
      A cosmid library of partially digested, flow sorted Y
chromosomes was made and inserted in the pSTUD vector.  pSTUD is
a modified phage that can replicate efficiently in bacteria,
yeast and mammalian cells but cannot commit to any one cell.  It
is often found absent by cells which awake in the morning to find
themselves alone; only the transferred DNA is left behind.

      A cDNA library was constructed using mRNA from the brains
of selected individuals.  These individuals were screened on the
basis of chest hair ratios (exposed vs. covered), visible mousse
levels, and the ability to walk up to strange women in
establishments of weekly mating rituals (bars) and say "Hey,
baby, come here often?"  cDNAs were cloned into the pBABE vector
which is currently thought to promiscuously ligate to any DNA it
can get its sticky ends near.  

RESULTS:
      Selected DNA probes were hybridized with cosmids to isolate
expressed Y genes.  pBABE 36-24-35 hybridized at pSTUD 555-1042
and while other BABEs hybridized with a few other STUDs, these
two seemed to have the strongest reaction.  

      pSTUD 555-1042 was subcloned into the pBRA series vector
with gives extra support for sequencing and footprinting.
pBRA-2, which covered the upstream regulatory sequences, showed
that 555-1042 not only had a TATA box, but an additional 5'
bodacious TATA box, found to be tremendously rich in both T and
A.  The coding sequence predicted a protein that had both zinc
fingers and leucine zippers.  Crystallography showed that the
zinc fingers could interact with this and other leucine zippers,
but the result of these interactions depended on the presence of
XX cells.  

      Further evidence that this gene controlled "male-type"
behavior followed transfection of pBABE 36-24-35 as a probe.
Bands appeared in human and simian DNA but were not seen in avian
or porcine lanes.  This latter observation proves once and for
all that men are NOT pigs.

DISCUSSION:
      We have isolated a y-chromosome encoded protein that
appears to control a number of male-specific behaviors.  We hope
to construct INS mutants that will not activate the normal
panel of *INS*-controlled genes.  Gene therapy with these mutants
could effectively improve male sensitivity and maybe, just maybe,
stop women from whining all the time.

ERRATUM:  
      Upon further analysis, we were forced to conclude that
INS encoded intelligence, although our observations regarding
the specificity of this gene to the Y-chromosome are unaltered.

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