학술논문

The rise and fall of the ancient northern pike master sex-determining gene
Document Type
article
Source
eLife, Vol 10 (2021)
Subject
fish
pikes
mudminnows
esociforms
esocidae
umbridae
Medicine
Science
Biology (General)
QH301-705.5
Language
English
ISSN
2050-084X
Abstract
The understanding of the evolution of variable sex determination mechanisms across taxa requires comparative studies among closely related species. Following the fate of a known master sex-determining gene, we traced the evolution of sex determination in an entire teleost order (Esociformes). We discovered that the northern pike (Esox lucius) master sex-determining gene originated from a 65 to 90 million-year-old gene duplication event and that it remained sex linked on undifferentiated sex chromosomes for at least 56 million years in multiple species. We identified several independent species- or population-specific sex determination transitions, including a recent loss of a Y chromosome. These findings highlight the diversity of evolutionary fates of master sex-determining genes and the importance of population demographic history in sex determination studies. We hypothesize that occasional sex reversals and genetic bottlenecks provide a non-adaptive explanation for sex determination transitions.