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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... May 2022In animals, males and females can display markedly different longevity (also called sex gaps in longevity, SGL). Sex chromosomes contribute to establishing these SGLs....
In animals, males and females can display markedly different longevity (also called sex gaps in longevity, SGL). Sex chromosomes contribute to establishing these SGLs. X-hemizygosity and toxicity of the Y chromosomes are two mechanisms that have been suggested to reduce male longevity (Z-hemizygosity and W toxicity in females in ZW systems). In plants, SGLs are known to exist, but the role of sex chromosomes remains to be established. Here, by using adult sex ratio as a proxy for measuring SGLs, we explored the relationship between sex chromosomes and SGLs across 43 plant species. Based on the knowledge accumulated in animals, we specifically asked whether: (i) species with XY systems tend to have female-biased sex ratios (reduced male longevity) and species with ZW ones tend to have male-biased sex ratios (reduced female longevity); and (ii) this pattern was stronger in heteromorphic systems compared to homomorphic ones. Our results tend to support these predictions although we lack statistical power because of a small number of ZW systems and the absence of any heteromorphic ZW system in the dataset. We discuss the implications of these findings, which we hope will stimulate further research on sex differences in lifespan and ageing across plants. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.
Topics: Animals; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Longevity; Male; Sex Chromosomes; Sex Ratio
PubMed: 35306888
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0219 -
Genes Mar 2021Frogs are ideal organisms for studying sex chromosome evolution because of their diversity in sex chromosome differentiation and sex-determination systems. We review 222... (Review)
Review
Frogs are ideal organisms for studying sex chromosome evolution because of their diversity in sex chromosome differentiation and sex-determination systems. We review 222 anuran frogs, spanning ~220 Myr of divergence, with characterized sex chromosomes, and discuss their evolution, phylogenetic distribution and transitions between homomorphic and heteromorphic states, as well as between sex-determination systems. Most (~75%) anurans have homomorphic sex chromosomes, with XY systems being three times more common than ZW systems. Most remaining anurans (~25%) have heteromorphic sex chromosomes, with XY and ZW systems almost equally represented. There are Y-autosome fusions in 11 species, and no W-/Z-/X-autosome fusions are known. The phylogeny represents at least 19 transitions between sex-determination systems and at least 16 cases of independent evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes from homomorphy, the likely ancestral state. Five lineages mostly have heteromorphic sex chromosomes, which might have evolved due to demographic and sexual selection attributes of those lineages. Males do not recombine over most of their genome, regardless of which is the heterogametic sex. Nevertheless, telomere-restricted recombination between ZW chromosomes has evolved at least once. More comparative genomic studies are needed to understand the evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes among frog lineages, especially in the ZW systems.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Male; Phylogeny; Sex Chromosomes; Sex Determination Processes
PubMed: 33810524
DOI: 10.3390/genes12040483 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... May 2022Sex chromosomes in plants have often been contrasted with those in animals with the goal of identifying key differences that can be used to elucidate fundamental... (Review)
Review
Sex chromosomes in plants have often been contrasted with those in animals with the goal of identifying key differences that can be used to elucidate fundamental evolutionary properties. For example, the often homomorphic sex chromosomes in plants have been compared to the highly divergent systems in some animal model systems, such as birds, and therian mammals, with many hypotheses offered to explain the apparent dissimilarities, including the younger age of plant sex chromosomes, the lesser prevalence of sexual dimorphism, or the greater extent of haploid selection. Furthermore, many plant sex chromosomes lack complete sex chromosome dosage compensation observed in some animals, including therian mammals, some poeciliids, and , and plant dosage compensation, where it exists, appears to be incomplete. Even the canonical theoretical models of sex chromosome formation differ somewhat between plants and animals. However, the highly divergent sex chromosomes observed in some animal groups are actually the exception, not the norm, and many animal clades are far more similar to plants in their sex chromosome patterns. This begs the question of how different are plant and animal sex chromosomes, and which of the many unique properties of plants would be expected to affect sex chromosome evolution differently than animals? In fact, plant and animal sex chromosomes exhibit more similarities than differences, and it is not at all clear that they differ in terms of sexual conflict, dosage compensation, or even degree of divergence. Overall, the largest difference between these two groups is the greater potential for haploid selection in plants compared to animals. This may act to accelerate the expansion of the non-recombining region at the same time that it maintains gene function within it. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.
Topics: Animals; Chromosomes, Plant; Dosage Compensation, Genetic; Drosophila; Evolution, Molecular; Mammals; Plants; Sex Chromosomes
PubMed: 35306885
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0218 -
Molecular Ecology Nov 2019Although sex is a fundamental component of eukaryotic reproduction, the genetic systems that control sex determination are highly variable. In many organisms the... (Review)
Review
Although sex is a fundamental component of eukaryotic reproduction, the genetic systems that control sex determination are highly variable. In many organisms the presence of sex chromosomes is associated with female or male development. Although certain groups possess stable and conserved sex chromosomes, others exhibit rapid sex chromosome evolution, including transitions between male and female heterogamety, and turnover in the chromosome pair recruited to determine sex. These turnover events have important consequences for multiple facets of evolution, as sex chromosomes are predicted to play a central role in adaptation, sexual dimorphism, and speciation. However, our understanding of the processes driving the formation and turnover of sex chromosome systems is limited, in part because we lack a complete understanding of interspecific variation in the mechanisms by which sex is determined. New bioinformatic methods are making it possible to identify and characterize sex chromosomes in a diverse array of non-model species, rapidly filling in the numerous gaps in our knowledge of sex chromosome systems across the tree of life. In turn, this growing data set is facilitating and fueling efforts to address many of the unanswered questions in sex chromosome evolution. Here, we synthesize the available bioinformatic approaches to produce a guide for characterizing sex chromosome system and identity simultaneously across clades of organisms. Furthermore, we survey our current understanding of the processes driving sex chromosome turnover, and highlight important avenues for future research.
Topics: Animals; Eukaryota; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Male; Sex Chromosomes; Sex Determination Processes
PubMed: 31538682
DOI: 10.1111/mec.15245 -
Current Topics in Developmental Biology 2019Evolution of genetic mechanisms of sex determination led to two processes causing sex differences in somatic phenotypes: gonadal differentiation and sex chromosome... (Review)
Review
Evolution of genetic mechanisms of sex determination led to two processes causing sex differences in somatic phenotypes: gonadal differentiation and sex chromosome dosage inequality. In species with heteromorphic sex chromosomes, the sex of the individual is established at the time of formation of the zygote, leading to inherent sex differences in expression of sex chromosome genes beginning as soon as the embryonic transcriptome is activated. The inequality of sex chromosome gene expression causes sexual differentiation of the gonads and of non-gonadal tissues. The difference in gonad type in turn causes lifelong differences in gonadal hormones, which interact with unequal effects of X and Y genes acting within cells. Separating the effects of gonadal hormones and sex chromosomes has been possible using mouse models in which gonadal determination is separated from the sex chromosomes, allowing comparison of XX and XY mice with the same type of gonad. Sex differences caused by gonadal hormones and sex chromosomes affect basic physiology and disease mechanisms in most or all tissues.
Topics: Animals; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Genes, X-Linked; Genes, Y-Linked; Gonadal Hormones; Male; Mice; Phenotype; Sex Chromosomes; Sex Determination Processes; Sex Differentiation
PubMed: 30999979
DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2019.01.003 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... May 2022Sex chromosomes play a special role in the evolution of reproductive barriers between species. Here we describe conflicting roles of nascent sex chromosomes on patterns...
Sex chromosomes play a special role in the evolution of reproductive barriers between species. Here we describe conflicting roles of nascent sex chromosomes on patterns of introgression in an experimental hybrid swarm. Drosophila nasuta and Drosophila albomicans are recently diverged, fully fertile sister species that have different sex chromosome systems. The fusion between an autosome (Muller CD) with the ancestral X and Y gave rise to neo-sex chromosomes in D. albomicans, while Muller CD remains unfused in D. nasuta. We found that a large block containing overlapping inversions on the neo-sex chromosome stood out as the strongest barrier to introgression. Intriguingly, the neo-sex chromosome introgression barrier is asymmetrical and sex-dependent. Female hybrids showed significant D. albomicans–biased introgression on Muller CD (neo-X excess), while males showed heterosis with excessive (neo-X, D. nasuta Muller CD) genotypes. We used a population genetic model to dissect the interplay of sex chromosome drive, heterospecific pairing incompatibility between the neo-sex chromosomes and unfused Muller CD, neo-Y disadvantage, and neo-X advantage in generating the observed sex chromosome genotypes in females and males. We show that moderate neo-Y disadvantage and D. albomicans specific meiotic drive are required to observe female-specific D. albomicans–biased introgression in this system, together with pairing incompatibility and neo-X advantage. In conclusion, this hybrid swarm between a young species pair sheds light onto the multifaceted roles of neo-sex chromosomes in a sex-dependent asymmetrical introgression barrier at a species boundary.
Topics: Animals; Drosophila; Evolution, Molecular; Sex Chromosomes; Y Chromosome
PubMed: 35512091
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119382119 -
Molecular Ecology Nov 2022The guppy Y chromosome has been considered a model system for the evolution of suppressed recombination between sex chromosomes, and it has been proposed that complete...
The guppy Y chromosome has been considered a model system for the evolution of suppressed recombination between sex chromosomes, and it has been proposed that complete sex-linkage has evolved across about 3 Mb surrounding this fish's sex-determining locus, followed by recombination suppression across a further 7 Mb of the 23 Mb XY pair, forming younger "evolutionary strata". Sequences of the guppy genome show that Y is very similar to the X chromosome. Knowing which parts of the Y are completely nonrecombining, and whether there is indeed a large completely nonrecombining region, are important for understanding its evolution. Here, we describe analyses of PoolSeq data in samples from within multiple natural populations from Trinidad, yielding new results that support previous evidence for occasional recombination between the guppy Y and X. We detected recent demographic changes, notably that downstream populations have higher synonymous site diversity than upstream ones and other expected signals of bottlenecks. We detected evidence of associations between sequence variants and the sex-determining locus, rather than divergence under a complete lack of recombination. Although recombination is infrequent, it is frequent enough that associations with SNPs can suggest the region in which the sex-determining locus must be located. Diversity is elevated across a physically large region of the sex chromosome, conforming to predictions for a genome region with infrequent recombination that carries one or more sexually antagonistic polymorphisms. However, no consistently male-specific variants were found, supporting the suggestion that any completely sex-linked region may be very small.
Topics: Animals; Male; Poecilia; Linkage Disequilibrium; Recombination, Genetic; Genetic Linkage; Sex Chromosomes
PubMed: 36005298
DOI: 10.1111/mec.16674 -
Cells Oct 2020Heteromorphic sex chromosomes, particularly the ZZ/ZW sex chromosome system of birds and some reptiles, undergo evolutionary dynamics distinct from those of autosomes.... (Review)
Review
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.
Topics: Animals; DNA Transposable Elements; Evolution, Molecular; Sex Chromosomes; Sex Determination Processes; Snakes; Telomere
PubMed: 33142713
DOI: 10.3390/cells9112386 -
Journal of Evolutionary Biology Feb 2023Sex differences in lifespan are ubiquitous across the tree of life and exhibit broad taxonomic patterns that remain a puzzle, such as males living longer than females in...
Sex differences in lifespan are ubiquitous across the tree of life and exhibit broad taxonomic patterns that remain a puzzle, such as males living longer than females in birds and vice versa in mammals. The prevailing unguarded X hypothesis explains sex differences in lifespan by differential expression of recessive mutations on the X or Z chromosome of the heterogametic sex, but has only received indirect support to date. An alternative hypothesis is that the accumulation of deleterious mutations and repetitive elements on the Y or W chromosome might lower the survival of the heterogametic sex ('toxic Y' hypothesis). Here, we use a new database to report lower survival of the heterogametic relative to the homogametic sex across 136 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, as expected if sex chromosomes shape sex-specific lifespans, and consistent with previous findings. We also found that the relative sizes of both the X and the Y chromosomes in mammals (but not the Z or the W chromosomes in birds) are associated with sex differences in lifespan, as predicted by the unguarded X and the 'toxic Y'. Furthermore, we report that the relative size of the Y is negatively associated with male lifespan in mammals, so that small Y size correlates with increased male lifespan. In theory, toxic Y effects are expected to be particularly strong in mammals, and we did not find similar effects in birds. Our results confirm the role of sex chromosomes in explaining sex differences in lifespan across tetrapods and further suggest that, at least in mammals, 'toxic Y' effects may play an important part in this role.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Longevity; Sex Chromosomes; Y Chromosome; Birds; Mammals
PubMed: 36537352
DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14130 -
Oncotarget Nov 2016Cytogenetic aberrations, such as chromosomal translocations, aneuploidy, and amplifications, are frequently detected in hematological malignancies. For many of the... (Review)
Review
Cytogenetic aberrations, such as chromosomal translocations, aneuploidy, and amplifications, are frequently detected in hematological malignancies. For many of the common autosomal aberrations, the mechanisms underlying their roles in cancer development have been well-characterized. On the contrary, although loss of a sex chromosome is observed in a broad range of hematological malignancies, how it cooperates in disease development is less understood. Nevertheless, it has been postulated that tumor suppressor genes reside on the sex chromosomes. Although the X and Y sex chromosomes are highly divergent, the pseudoautosomal regions are homologous between both chromosomes. Here, we review what is currently known about the pseudoautosomal region genes in the hematological system. Additionally, we discuss implications for haploinsufficiency of critical pseudoautosomal region sex chromosome genes, driven by sex chromosome loss, in promoting hematological malignancies. Because mechanistic studies on disease development rely heavily on murine models, we also discuss the challenges and caveats of existing models, and propose alternatives for examining the involvement of pseudoautosomal region genes and loss of a sex chromosome in vivo. With the widespread detection of loss of a sex chromosome in different hematological malignances, the elucidation of the role of pseudoautosomal region genes in the development and progression of these diseases would be invaluable to the field.
Topics: Chromosome Deletion; Chromosomes, Human, X; Chromosomes, Human, Y; Genes, Tumor Suppressor; Hematologic Neoplasms; Humans; Proto-Oncogenes; Pseudoautosomal Regions; RNA, Untranslated; Sex Chromosome Aberrations
PubMed: 27655702
DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.12050