• ~ 30% B6D2F1 mice express steroid-independent male sex behavior (SI-MSB; SI-maters).
• A proportion of B6D2F2 male mice display SI-MSB demonstrating that it is a heritable trait.
• F2 SI-maters can be sired from either an F1 SI-mater or SI-non-mater.
• Maternal strain may be an important factor in the inheritance of SI-MSB.
• F1 SI-maters are more likely to pass on some aspects of SI-MSB than SI-non-maters.
Figure 1. (A) Percentage of B6D2F1 male mice (n=36) that
were either maters or non-maters. (B) Percentage of B6D2F1
males that sired a litter that contained at least one BXB1 mater.
*significantly higher than B6D2F1 non-maters (p < 0.05).