Project description:Sex determination evolves rapidly, often because of turnover of the genes at the top of the pathway. The house fly, Musca domestica, has a multifactorial sex determination system, allowing us to identify the selective forces responsible for the evolutionary turnover of sex determination in action. There is a male determining factor, M, on the Y chromosome (Y^M), which is probably the ancestral state. An M factor on the third chromosome (III^M) has reached high frequencies in multiple populations across the world, but the evolutionary forces responsible for the invasion of III^M are not resolved. To test if the III^M chromosome invaded because of sex-specific selection pressures, we used mRNA sequencing to determine if isogenic males that differ only in the presence of the Y^M or III^M chromosome have different gene expression profiles. We find that more genes are differentially expressed between Y^M and III^M males in testis than head, and that genes with male-biased expression are most likely to be differentially expressed between Y^M and III^M males. This suggests that male phenotypes, especially those related to male fertility, are more likely to be affected by the male-determining chromosome, supporting the hypothesis that sex-specific selection acts on alleles linked to the male-determining locus driving evolutionary turnover in the sex determination pathway. We additionally find that III^M males have a "masculinization" gene expression profile, suggesting that the III^M chromosome has accumulated an excess of male-beneficial alleles because of its male-limited transmission.
2015-03-20 | GSE67065 | GEO
Project description:Are geckos special in sex determination? Independently evolved differentiated ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes in carphodactylid geckos
Project description:Gene dosage imbalance of heteromorphic sex chromosomes (XY or ZW) exists between the sexes, and with the autosomes. Mammalian X chromosome inactivation was long thought to imply a critical need for dosage compensation in vertebrates. However, mRNA abundance measurements that demonstrated sex chromosome transcripts are neither balanced between the sexes or with autosomes in monotreme mammals or birds brought sex chromosome dosage compensation into question. This study examines transcriptomic and proteomic levels of dosage compensation in platypus and chicken compared to mouse, a model eutherian species. We analyzed mRNA and protein levels in heart and liver tissues of chicken, mouse and platypus.
2024-07-30 | PXD040182 | Pride
Project description:Evolution of sex chromosomes in the Madagascar geckos of the genus Paroedura
| PRJNA534112 | ENA
Project description:Humulus lupulus sex chromosome evolution