Sex chromosomes and sex-determining genes: insights from marsupials and monotremes.
Comparative studies of the genes involved in sex determination in the three extant classes of mammals, and other vertebrates, has allowed us to identify genes that are highly conserved in vertebrate sex determination and those that have recently evolved roles in one lineage. Analysis of the conservation and function of candidate genes in different vertebrate groups has been crucial to our understanding of their function and positioning in a conserved vertebrate sex-determining pathway. Here we review comparisons between genes in the sex-determining pathway in different vertebrates, and ask how these comparisons affect our views on the role of each gene in vertebrate sex determination.
School of Genetics and Human Variation, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia. apask@genome.latrobe.edu.au
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D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D018628:Gene Dosage; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D008297:Male; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009007:Monotremata / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010802:Phylogeny; D012730:Sex Chromosomes / Q000502:physiology*; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein; D013045:Species Specificity; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000235:genetics; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors