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Animals
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Recent Advances in Genetic Mechanism and Evolution of Sex Determination...
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Recent Advances in Genetic Mechanism and Evolution of Sex Determination and Chromosomes

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 3857

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yukako Katsura

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama-shi, Japan
Interests: evolutionary genetics; sex chromosomes; molecular evolution; phylogeny; sex determination

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sex determination is essential for sexual reproduction and it has evolved differently depending on the organism. Genetic and evolutionary mechanisms, such as the evolution and origin of sex chromosomes that genetically determine sex, turnover of sex chromosomes and mechanisms of environment-dependent sex determination, have recently been studied through the fusion of genomics, molecular biology and evolutionary genetics. Through this Special Issue, we would like to report recent progress on the genetic mechanisms of diverse sex determination factors and sex chromosomes, and their evolutionary mechanisms.

The issue focuses on recent advances in genetic mechanisms, and the evolutionary processes of sex chromosomes and sex determination in animals. The scope of the issue is broad, and topics on various animals, vertebrate and invertebrate will be accepted. This issue aims to help a diverse readership gain a comprehensive understanding of the latest knowledge on the evolution of sex determination, complementing integrated knowledge on the genetic mechanism of sex determination and its evolutionary mechanisms.

Dr. Yukako Katsura
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sex chromosome
  • sex determination
  • molecular evolution
  • genetics

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 1139 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Evolution and Functional Differentiation of Testis-Expressed Genes in Theria
by Yukako Katsura, Shuji Shigenobu and Yoko Satta
Animals 2024, 14(16), 2316; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14162316 - 9 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1032
Abstract
Gene expression patterns differ in different tissues, and the expression pattern of genes in the mammalian testis is known to be extremely variable in different species. To clarify how the testis transcriptomic pattern has evolved in particular species, we examined the evolution of [...] Read more.
Gene expression patterns differ in different tissues, and the expression pattern of genes in the mammalian testis is known to be extremely variable in different species. To clarify how the testis transcriptomic pattern has evolved in particular species, we examined the evolution of the adult testis transcriptome in Theria using 10 species: two marsupials (opossum and Tasmanian devil), six eutherian (placental) mammals (human, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, rhesus macaque, and mouse), and two outgroup species (platypus and chicken). We show that 22 testis-expressed genes are marsupial-specific, suggesting their acquisition in the stem lineage of marsupials after the divergence from eutherians. Despite the time length of the eutherian stem lineage being similar to that of the marsupial lineage, acquisition of testis-expressed genes was not found in the stem lineage of eutherians; rather, their expression patterns differed by species, suggesting rapid gene evolution in the eutherian ancestors. Fifteen testis-expressed genes are therian-specific, and for three of these genes, the evolutionary tempo is markedly faster in eutherians than in marsupials. Our phylogenetic analysis of Rho GTPase-activating protein 28 (ARHGAP28) suggests the adaptive evolution of this gene in the eutherians, probably together with the expression pattern differentiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Genetic Mechanism and Evolution of Sex Determination and Chromosomes)
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12 pages, 761 KiB  
Communication
Specificity of Key Sex Determination Genes in a Mammal with Ovotestes: The European Mole Talpa europaea
by Alexey Bogdanov, Maria Sokolova and Irina Bakloushinskaya
Animals 2024, 14(15), 2180; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14152180 - 26 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1405
Abstract
Here, for the first time, the structure of genes involved in sex determination in mammals (full Sry and partial Rspo1, Eif2s3x, and Eif2s3y) was analyzed for the European mole Talpa europaea with ovotestes in females. We confirmed male-specificity for Eif2s3y [...] Read more.
Here, for the first time, the structure of genes involved in sex determination in mammals (full Sry and partial Rspo1, Eif2s3x, and Eif2s3y) was analyzed for the European mole Talpa europaea with ovotestes in females. We confirmed male-specificity for Eif2s3y and Sry. Five exons were revealed for Rspo1 and the deep similarity with the structure of this gene in T. occidentalis was proved. The most intriguing result was obtained for the Sry gene, which, in placental mammals, initiates male development. We described two exons for this canonically single-exon gene: the first (initial) exon is only 15 bp while the second exon includes 450 bp. The exons are divided by an extended intron of about 1894 bp, including the fragment of the LINE retroposon. Moreover, in chromatogram fragments, which correspond to intron and DNA areas, flanking both exons, we revealed double peaks, similar to heterozygous nucleotide sites of autosomal genes. This may indicate the existence of two or more copies of the Sry gene. Proof of copies requires an additional in-depth study. We hypothesize that unusual structure and possible supernumerary copies of Sry may be involved in ovotestes formation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Genetic Mechanism and Evolution of Sex Determination and Chromosomes)
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6 pages, 467 KiB  
Communication
Fast and Simple Molecular Test for Sex Determination of the Monomorphic Eudromia elegans Individuals
by Zuzana Majchrakova, Marcela Bielikova, Evelina Hrckova Turnova, Petra Gasparkova, Jan Turna and Andrej Dudas
Animals 2024, 14(12), 1719; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14121719 - 7 Jun 2024
Viewed by 935
Abstract
Sex determination based just on morphological traits such as plumage dichromatism, sexual size dimorphism, behavior, or vocalizations is really challenging because of the sexual monomorphism present in more than half of avian species. Currently, a lot of them can be tested through DNA-based [...] Read more.
Sex determination based just on morphological traits such as plumage dichromatism, sexual size dimorphism, behavior, or vocalizations is really challenging because of the sexual monomorphism present in more than half of avian species. Currently, a lot of them can be tested through DNA-based procedures, but they do not fit all the avian species, such as Eudromia elegans. The aim of this study was to design a new molecular method suitable for routine sex determination for that species that is fast, simple, and cost- and time- effective. DNA was isolated from dry blood stain and/or chest feather samples of E. elegans species. We used two sets of sex-specific primers (ZF/ZR and WF/WR) to amplify the expected fragments localized on the highly conserved CHD1 gene to distinguish between sexes due to the W-specific DNA sequence present only in females. We confirmed the accuracy and consistency of the PCR-based method based on length differences to distinguish between the sexes of E. elegans, which amplified two fragments in females and one fragment in males. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Genetic Mechanism and Evolution of Sex Determination and Chromosomes)
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