Work

Molecular Cytogenetic Evidence of Rearrangements on the Y Chromosome of the Threespine Stickleback Fish

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: To identify the processes shaping vertebrate sex chromosomes during the early stages of their evolution, it is necessary to study systems in which genetic sex determination was recently acquired. Previous cytogenetic studies suggested that threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) do not have a heteromorphic sex chromosome pair, although recent genetic studies found evidence of an XY genetic sex-determination system. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we report that the threespine stickleback Y chromosome is heteromorphic and has suffered both inversions and deletion. Using the FISH data, we reconstruct the rearrangements that have led to the current physical state of the threespine stickleback Y chromosome. These data demonstrate that the threespine Y is more degenerate than previously thought, suggesting that the process of sex chromosome evolution can occur rapidly following acquisition of a sex-determining region.

Source: Genetics

DOI: 10.1534/genetics.108.088559

Authors: Joseph A Ross, Catherine L Peichel

Institutions: University of Washington, Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Broad Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Genomic Basis of Vertebrate Diversity, Training in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Evolution of Sex Determination in Sticklebacks