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Complex evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes across bird taxa.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Zhou, Q; Zhang, J; Bachtrog, D; An, N; Huang, Q; Jarvis, ED; Gilbert, MTP; Zhang, G
Published in: Science
December 12, 2014

Sex-specific chromosomes, like the W of most female birds and the Y of male mammals, usually have lost most genes owing to a lack of recombination. We analyze newly available genomes of 17 bird species representing the avian phylogenetic range, and find that more than half of them do not have as fully degenerated W chromosomes as that of chicken. We show that avian sex chromosomes harbor tremendous diversity among species in their composition of pseudoautosomal regions and degree of Z/W differentiation. Punctuated events of shared or lineage-specific recombination suppression have produced a gradient of "evolutionary strata" along the Z chromosome, which initiates from the putative avian sex-determining gene DMRT1 and ends at the pseudoautosomal region. W-linked genes are subject to ongoing functional decay after recombination was suppressed, and the tempo of degeneration slows down in older strata. Overall, we unveil a complex history of avian sex chromosome evolution.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Science

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

Publication Date

December 12, 2014

Volume

346

Issue

6215

Start / End Page

1246338

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcription Factors
  • Synteny
  • Struthioniformes
  • Species Specificity
  • Sex Chromosomes
  • Recombination, Genetic
  • Phylogeny
  • Male
  • General Science & Technology
  • Female
 

Citation

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Zhou, Q., Zhang, J., Bachtrog, D., An, N., Huang, Q., Jarvis, E. D., … Zhang, G. (2014). Complex evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes across bird taxa. Science, 346(6215), 1246338. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1246338
Zhou, Qi, Jilin Zhang, Doris Bachtrog, Na An, Quanfei Huang, Erich D. Jarvis, M Thomas P. Gilbert, and Guojie Zhang. “Complex evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes across bird taxa.Science 346, no. 6215 (December 12, 2014): 1246338. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1246338.
Zhou Q, Zhang J, Bachtrog D, An N, Huang Q, Jarvis ED, et al. Complex evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes across bird taxa. Science. 2014 Dec 12;346(6215):1246338.
Zhou, Qi, et al. “Complex evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes across bird taxa.Science, vol. 346, no. 6215, Dec. 2014, p. 1246338. Pubmed, doi:10.1126/science.1246338.
Zhou Q, Zhang J, Bachtrog D, An N, Huang Q, Jarvis ED, Gilbert MTP, Zhang G. Complex evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes across bird taxa. Science. 2014 Dec 12;346(6215):1246338.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

Publication Date

December 12, 2014

Volume

346

Issue

6215

Start / End Page

1246338

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcription Factors
  • Synteny
  • Struthioniformes
  • Species Specificity
  • Sex Chromosomes
  • Recombination, Genetic
  • Phylogeny
  • Male
  • General Science & Technology
  • Female