title: Non-random autosome segregation: a stepping stone for the evolution of sex chromosome complexes? Sex-biased transmission of autosomes could facilitate the spread of antagonistic alleles, and generate sex-chromosome systems with multiple X or Y chromosomes.
abstract: A new study in Caenorhabditis elegans shows that homologous autosomes segregate non-randomly with the sex chromosome in the heterogametic sex. Segregation occurs according to size, small autosomes segregating with, and large autosomes segregating away from the X-chromosome. Such sex-biased transmission of autosomes could facilitate the spread of sexually antagonistic alleles whose effects favor the fitness of one sex at the expense of the other. This may provide a first step toward the evolution of new sex determination systems.
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Genetics, Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. tanja.schwander@gmail.com
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schwander
authors.forename: Leo W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Beukeboom
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics; D020090:Chromosome Segregation / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D005787:Gene Frequency; D012729:Sex Chromosome Aberrations; D019849:Sex Determination Processes / Q000235:genetics*; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*