A strain of Caenorhabditis elegans was constructed that permits selection of dominant or sex-linked mutations that transform XO animals (normally male) into fertile females, using a feminizing mutation,
tra-2(
e2046gf), which by itself does not sexually transform XO males. Twenty-three mutations were isolated after chemical mutagenesis and found to fall into both expected classes (four dominant
tra-1 mutations and eight recessive
xol-1 mutations) and novel classes. The novel mutations include 10 second-site mutations of
tra-2, which are called eg mutations, for enhanced gain-of-function. The
tra-2(gj, eg) alleles lead to complete dominant transformation of XO animals from fertile male into fertile female. Also isolated was a duplication of the left end of the X chromosome, eDp26 which has dominant XO lethal and feminizing properties, unlike all previously isolated duplications of the X chromosome. The properties of eDp26 indicate that it carries copies of one or more numerator elements, which act as part of the primary sex-determination signal, the X:A ratio. The eDp26 duplication is attached to the left tip of the X chromosome in inverted orientation and consequently can be used to generate unstable attached-X chromosomes.