The evolution of sex-biased genes and sex-biased gene expression

Ellegren, Hans; Parsch, John

doi:10.1038/nrg2167

Cited by 834 publications

(1,108 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…This effect was termed "male sex drive" [12]. Male sex drive can lead to genome masculinization, which can be manifested in two main ways: 1) the existence of larger number of genes in the genome that have male-specific effects than genes that have female-specific effects, and 2) faster rates of evolution of male-biased genes than female-biased and sexunbiased genes, leading to larger divergence of male-biased genes at the levels of DNA, RNA and protein [3,13]. A masuculinized transcriptome can be, therefore, characterized by a higher proportion of male-biased genes than that of female-biased genes.…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex differences in DNA methylation and expression in zebrafish brain: a test of an extended ‘male sex drive’ hypothesis

Chatterjee

Lagisz

Rodger

et al. 2016

Gene

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Sex differences in DNA methylation and expression in zebrafish brain: a test of an extended 'male sex drive ' hypothesis, Gene (2016' hypothesis, Gene ( ), doi: 10.1016' hypothesis, Gene ( /j.gene.2016 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 3 ABSTRACTThe sex drive hypothesis predicts that stronger selection on male traits has resulted in masculinization of the genome. Here we test whether such masculinizing effects can be detected at the level of the transcriptome and methylome in the adult zebrafish brain.Although methylation is globally similar, we identified 914 specific differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs) between males and females (435 were hypermethylated and 479 were hypomethylated in males compared to females). These DMCs were prevalent in gene body, intergenic regions and CpG island shores. We also discovered 15 distinct CpG clusters with striking sex-specific DNA methylation differences. In contrast, at transcriptome level, more female-biased genes than male-biased genes were expressed, giving little support for the male sex drive hypothesis.Our study provides genome-wide methylome and transcriptome assessment and sheds light on sex-specific epigenetic patterns and in zebrafish for the first time.

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Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sex-specific gene expression (i.e., expression exclusively in one sex) or, more commonly, sex-biased gene expression (i.e., expression predominantly in one sex), is one of the main proximate causes of phenotypic differences between the sexes in these organisms. [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in DNA methylation and expression in zebrafish brain: a test of an extended ‘male sex drive’ hypothesis

Chatterjee

Lagisz

Rodger

et al. 2016

Gene

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“…Human females, for example, may experience male-pattern facial hair growth as a result of excess androgen production [5], although usually to a lesser degree than average males. The assumption that females experience fitness costs of masculinization is central to key ideas in evolutionary biology, including the evolution of sex-specific chromosomes and sex-biased gene regulation [6][7][8], the origin of sexual dimorphism [2,3,7] and maintenance of phenotypic variation in a population [9]. However, whether masculinized females actually experience social and reproductive costs in nature is surprisingly underexplored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bearded ladies: females suffer fitness consequences when bearing male traits

Swierk

Langkilde

2013

Biol. Lett.

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A central assumption in evolutionary biology is that females of sexually dimorphic species suffer costs when bearing male secondary sexual traits, such as ornamentation. Nevertheless, it is common in nature to observe females bearing rudimentary versions of male ornaments (e.g. 'bearded ladies'), as ornaments can be under similar genetic control in both sexes. Here, we provide evidence that masculinized females incur both social and reproductive costs in nature. Male fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) discriminated against ornamented females during mate choice. Ornamented females had lower reproductive output, and produced eggs that were laid and hatched later than those of non-ornamented females. These findings support established theories of the evolution of sexual dimorphism and intralocus sexual conflict, and raise questions regarding the persistence of masculinizing ornamentation in females.

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“…Studies in species possessing sex chromosomes have revealed that differences between males and females in size, morphological features and a host of other phenotypic attributes arise mainly because of differences in gene expression profiles between the sexes [23]. The aim of this study was to determine the relative roles of ploidy level and genotype at the sex locus on gene expression patterns associated with sexual development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of ploidy and sex-locus genotype on gene expression patterns in the fire antSolenopsis invicta

et al. 2014

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Males in many animal species differ greatly from females in morphology, physiology and behaviour. Ants, bees and wasps have a haplodiploid mechanism of sex determination whereby unfertilized eggs become males while fertilized eggs become females. However, many species also have a low frequency of diploid males, which are thought to develop from diploid eggs when individuals are homozygous at one or more sex determination loci. Diploid males are morphologically similar to haploids, though often larger and typically sterile. To determine how ploidy level and sex-locus genotype affect gene expression during development, we compared expression patterns between diploid males, haploid males and females (queens) at three developmental timepoints in Solenopsis invicta. In pupae, gene expression profiles of diploid males were very different from those of haploid males but nearly identical to those of queens. An unexpected shift in expression patterns emerged soon after adult eclosion, with diploid male patterns diverging from those of queens to resemble those of haploid males, a pattern retained in older adults. The finding that ploidy level effects on early gene expression override sex effects (including genes implicated in sperm production and pheromone production/perception) may explain diploid male sterility and lack of worker discrimination against them during development.

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The evolution of sex-biased genes and sex-biased gene expression

Cited by 834 publications

References 87 publications

Sex differences in DNA methylation and expression in zebrafish brain: a test of an extended ‘male sex drive’ hypothesis

Sex differences in DNA methylation and expression in zebrafish brain: a test of an extended ‘male sex drive’ hypothesis

Bearded ladies: females suffer fitness consequences when bearing male traits

Effects of ploidy and sex-locus genotype on gene expression patterns in the fire antSolenopsis invicta

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