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Evolution and Differentiation of Sex Chromosomes in Lower Vertebrates

  • Chapter
Mechanisms of Gonadal Differentiation in Vertebrates

Abstract

The primitive bisexual organisms preserve the separation of male and female by at least one major gene, which determines in the embryo the differentiation of the gonad into testis or ovary. In several fish species the sex is apparently decided by the presence of a major gene or a sequence of some linked genes. Its presence would result in the heterogametic sex and its absence in the homogametic sex. Duplications may result in accumulation of sex determining and related genes in the same homologue. This may lead to a regional differentiation between the homologue bearing the duplicated genes on the one without such genes. A morphologic alteration which hinders crossing-over may result eventually in a drastic differentiation between chromosomes now designated as sex chromosomes (SC)1. However, they would still be partially homologous with regular segregation during meiosis.

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  1. Serviço de Genética, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brasil

    Willy Beçak

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  1. Willy Beçak
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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Beçak, W. (1983). Evolution and Differentiation of Sex Chromosomes in Lower Vertebrates. In: Mechanisms of Gonadal Differentiation in Vertebrates. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69150-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69150-8_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-12480-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-69150-8

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