title: Some inconvenient truths about sex chromosome dosage compensation and the potential role of sexual conflict.
abstract: Sex chromosome dosage compensation was once thought to be required to balance gene expression levels between sex-linked and autosomal genes in the heterogametic sex. Recent evidence from a range of animals has indicated that although sex chromosome dosage compensation exists in some clades, it is far from a necessary companion to sex chromosome evolution, and is in fact rather rare in animals. This raises questions about why complex dosage compensation mechanisms arise in some clades when they are not strictly needed, and suggests that the role of sex-specific selection in sex chromosome gene regulation should be reassessed. We show there exists a tremendous diversity in the mechanisms that regulate gene dosage and argue that sexual conflict may be an overlooked agent responsible for some of the variation seen in sex chromosome gene dose regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. Judith.Mank@zoo.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Judith E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Mank
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hosken
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wedell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012730:Sex Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics*