title: Sciara as an experimental model for studies on the evolutionary relationships between the zygotic, maternal and environmental primary signals for sexual development.
abstract: Sex determination refers to the developmental programme that commits the embryo to either the male or the female pathway. There are a plethora of mechanisms via which gender is decided. These mechanisms can be classified into three main categories depending on the origin of the primary, genetic, sex-determination signal, which can be zygotic, maternal or environmental. In the dipteran Sciara, the zygotic signal is a consequence of the maternal signal, and this in turn can be a consequence of the environmental signal. This makes Sciara a unique experimental model for studying the evolutionary relationships between the three primary signals triggering sexual development.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain. lsanchez@cib.csic.es
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004175:Diptera / Q000254:growth & development*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D018392:Genomic Imprinting / Q000235:genetics; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D019849:Sex Determination Processes / Q000235:genetics; D046468:Sexual Development; D013045:Species Specificity; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics; D015053:Zygote / Q000254:growth & development*