Evolution of Sex Chromosomes in Insects

Overview

Journal Annu Rev Genet

Publisher Annual Reviews

Specialty Genetics

Date 2010 Nov 5

PMID 21047257

Citations 70

Authors

Vera B Kaiser

Doris Bachtrog

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Sex chromosomes have many unusual features relative to autosomes. Y (or W) chromosomes lack genetic recombination, are male- (female-) limited, and show an abundance of genetically inert heterochromatic DNA but contain few functional genes. X (or Z) chromosomes also show sex-biased transmission (i.e., X chromosomes show female-biased and Z-chromosomes show male-biased inheritance) and are hemizygous in the heterogametic sex. Their unusual ploidy level and pattern of inheritance imply that sex chromosomes play a unique role in many biological processes and phenomena, including sex determination, epigenetic chromosome-wide regulation of gene expression, the distribution of genes in the genome, genomic conflict, local adaptation, and speciation. The vast diversity of sex chromosome systems in insects--ranging from the classical male heterogametic XY system in Drosophila to ZW systems in Lepidoptera or mobile genes determining sex as found in house flies--implies that insects can serve as unique model systems to study various functional and evolutionary aspects of these different processes.

Citing Articles

Exploring the molecular differentiation of sex chromosomes in Anastrepha fraterculus sp. 1 using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH).

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Satellitome Analysis of (Coleoptera): Revealing Centromeric Turnover and Potential Chromosome Rearrangements in a Comparative Interspecific Study.

Mora P, Rico-Porras J, Palomeque T, Montiel E, Pita S, Cabral-de-Mello D Int J Mol Sci. 2024; 25(17).

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Cytogenetic evidence and dmrt linkage indicate male heterogamety in a non-bilaterian animal.

Vacarizas J, Taguchi T, Mezaki T, Manalili S, Kawakami R, Kubota S PLoS One. 2023; 18(5):e0285851.

PMID: 37200254 PMC: 10194864. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285851.

On the Origin of Neo-Sex Chromosomes in the Neotropical Dragonflies and (Aeshnidae, Odonata).

Mola L, Vrbova I, Tosto D, Zrzava M, Marec F Insects. 2022; 13(12).

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Telomere organization and the interstitial telomeric sites involvement in insects and vertebrates chromosome evolution.

Vicari M, Bruschi D, Cabral-de-Mello D, Nogaroto V Genet Mol Biol. 2022; 45(3 Suppl 1):e20220071.

PMID: 36394537 PMC: 9693754. DOI: 10.1590/1678-4685-GMB-2022-0071.

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