Sex chromosomes and karyotype of the (nearly) mythical creature, the Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum (Squamata: Helodermatidae).

ABSTRACT: A wide variety of sex determination systems exist among squamate reptiles. They can therefore serve as an important model for studies of evolutionary transitions among particular sex determination systems. However, we still have only a limited knowledge of sex determination in certain important lineages of squamates. In this respect, one of the most understudied groups is the family Helodermatidae (Anguimorpha) encompassing the only two venomous species of lizards which are potentially lethal to human beings. We uncovered homomorphic ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes in the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) with a highly heterochromatic W chromosome. The sex chromosomes are morphologically similar to the ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes of monitor lizards (Varanidae). If the sex chromosomes of helodermatids and

SUBMITTER: Johnson Pokorna M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4131918 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature