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The ontogeny of the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor (R) gene expression was studied in the rat testis and ovary between day 12.5 or 14.5 of fetal life (f), respectively, and adulthood. In Northern blots hybridized with a cRNA probe corresponding to a part of the extracellular domain of the FSHR, specific hybridization to testicular RNA was detected from day f18.5, and to ovarian RNA from postnatal day 7 onwards. The main transcripts in the testis were at all ages 7.0 kb and 2.5 kb in size. In the ovary, the main transcript was always 2.5 kb in size. In order to increase the sensitivity of mRNA detection, the FSHR gene expression was also analyzed using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique with primer pairs corresponding to the near full-length FSHR mRNA or to its extracellular domain. The specificity of the PCR products was verified by Southern hybridization using a …