Snake W Sex Chromosome: The Shadow of Ancestral Amniote Super-Sex Chromosome

Overview

Journal Cells

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Biophysics
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2020 Nov 4

PMID 33142713

Citations 9

Authors

Worapong Singchat

Syed Farhan Ahmad

Nararat Laopichienpong

Aorarat Suntronpong

Thitipong Panthum

Darren K Griffin

Kornsorn Srikulnath

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Heteromorphic sex chromosomes, particularly the ZZ/ZW sex chromosome system of birds and some reptiles, undergo evolutionary dynamics distinct from those of autosomes. The W sex chromosome is a unique karyological member of this heteromorphic pair, which has been extensively studied in snakes to explore the origin, evolution, and genetic diversity of amniote sex chromosomes. The snake W sex chromosome offers a fascinating model system to elucidate ancestral trajectories that have resulted in genetic divergence of amniote sex chromosomes. Although the principal mechanism driving evolution of the amniote sex chromosome remains obscure, an emerging hypothesis, supported by studies of W sex chromosomes of squamate reptiles and snakes, suggests that sex chromosomes share varied genomic blocks across several amniote lineages. This implies the possible split of an ancestral super-sex chromosome via chromosomal rearrangements. We review the major findings pertaining to sex chromosomal profiles in amniotes and discuss the evolution of an ancestral super-sex chromosome by collating recent evidence sourced mainly from the snake W sex chromosome analysis. We highlight the role of repeat-mediated sex chromosome conformation and present a genomic landscape of snake Z and W chromosomes, which reveals the relative abundance of major repeats, and identifies the expansion of certain transposable elements. The latest revolution in chromosomics, i.e., complete telomere-to-telomere assembly, offers mechanistic insights into the evolutionary origin of sex chromosomes.

Citing Articles

MicrosatNavigator: exploring nonrandom distribution and lineage-specificity of microsatellite repeat motifs on vertebrate sex chromosomes across 186 whole genomes.

Rasoarahona R, Wattanadilokchatkun P, Panthum T, Jaisamut K, Lisachov A, Thong T Chromosome Res. 2023; 31(4):29.

PMID: 37775555 DOI: 10.1007/s10577-023-09738-4.

The Rattlesnake W Chromosome: A GC-Rich Retroelement Refugium with Retained Gene Function Across Ancient Evolutionary Strata.

Schield D, Perry B, Card D, Pasquesi G, Westfall A, Mackessy S Genome Biol Evol. 2022; 14(9).

PMID: 35867356 PMC: 9447483. DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac116.

Something Fishy about Siamese Fighting Fish () Sex: Polygenic Sex Determination or a Newly Emerged Sex-Determining Region?.

Panthum T, Jaisamut K, Singchat W, Ahmad S, Kongkaew L, Wongloet W Cells. 2022; 11(11).

PMID: 35681459 PMC: 9179492. DOI: 10.3390/cells11111764.

Do Ty3/Gypsy Transposable Elements Play Preferential Roles in Sex Chromosome Differentiation?.

Srikulnath K, Ahmad S, Singchat W, Panthum T Life (Basel). 2022; 12(4).

PMID: 35455013 PMC: 9025612. DOI: 10.3390/life12040522.

Singchat W, Panthum T, Ahmad S, Baicharoen S, Muangmai N, Duengkae P Cells. 2021; 10(11).

PMID: 34831192 PMC: 8616239. DOI: 10.3390/cells10112969.

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