Project description:We performed RNA-seq experiments to examine the effects of house fly proto-Y chromosomes on gene expression. Two different Y^M chromosomes were investigated, and two different III^M chromosomes were investigated. One of the Y^M genotypes also was also heterozygous for third chromosomes that do not carry a male-determining locus to evaluate the effect of third chromosomes on gene expression independent of being a proto-Y.
Project description:We injected double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into house fly embryos to knock down transformer (Md-tra), creating sex-reversed males that do not carry a Y chromosome. We also injected dsRNA trageting GFP as a sham treatment. We used RNA-seq to compare gene expression in the sex-reversed males with genotypic (normal) females (injected with dsRNA targeting GFP) and two types of genotypic (normal) males (injected with dsRNA targeting Md-tra or GFP). The expression profiles of sex-reversed males were similar to normal males. In contrast, about two thousand genes are differentially expressed between sex-reversed males and normal females, a similar magnitude as between normal males and females.
