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Evolution of a ZW sex chromosome system in willows
Hu, Nan Sanderson, Brian J. Guo, Minghao Feng, Guanqiao Gambhir, Diksha Hale, Haley Wang, Deyan Hyden, Brennan Liu, Jianquan Smart, Lawrence B.
Hu, Nan
Sanderson, Brian J.
Guo, Minghao
Feng, Guanqiao
Gambhir, Diksha
Hale, Haley
Wang, Deyan
Hyden, Brennan
Liu, Jianquan
Smart, Lawrence B.
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Abstract
Transitions in the heterogamety of sex chromosomes (e.g., XY to ZW or vice versa) fundamentally alter the genetic basis of sex determination, however the details of these changes have been studied in only a few cases. In an XY to ZW transition, the X is likely to give rise to the W because they both carry feminizing genes and the X is expected to harbour less genetic load than the Y. Here, using a new reference genome for Salix exigua, we trace the X, Y, Z, and W sex determination regions during the homologous transition from an XY system to a ZW system in willow (Salix). We show that both the W and the Z arose from the Y chromosome. We find that the new Z chromosome shares multiple homologous putative masculinizing factors with the ancestral Y, whereas the new W lost these masculinizing factors and gained feminizing factors. The origination of both the W and Z from the Y was permitted by an unexpectedly low genetic load on the Y and this indicates that the origins of sex chromosomes during homologous transitions may be more flexible than previously considered.
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Date
2023-11-06
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Nature Research
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Keywords
Evolutionary biology, Plant genetics, Evolutionary genetics
Citation
Hu N, Sanderson BJ, Guo M, Feng G, Gambhir D, Hale H, Wang D, Hyden B, Liu J, Smart LB, DiFazio SP, Ma T, Olson MS. Evolution of a ZW sex chromosome system in willows. Nat Commun. 2023 Nov 6;14(1):7144. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42880-5. PMID: 37932261; PMCID: PMC10628195