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Unusual mammalian sex determination systems: a cabinet of curiosities

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posted on 2023-05-21, 11:38 authored by Paul SaundersPaul Saunders, Veyrunes, F
Therian mammals have among the oldest and most conserved sex-determining systems known to date. Any deviation from the standard XX/XY mammalian sex chromosome constitution usually leads to sterility or poor fertility, due to the high differentiation and specialization of the X and Y chromosomes. Nevertheless, a handful of rodents harbor so-called unusual sex-determining systems. While in some species, fertile XY females are found, some others have completely lost their Y chromosome. These atypical species have fascinated researchers for over 60 years, and constitute unique natural models for the study of fundamental processes involved in sex determination in mammals and vertebrates. In this article, we review current knowledge of these species, discuss their similarities and differences, and attempt to expose how the study of their exceptional sex-determining systems can further our understanding of general processes involved in sex chromosome and sex determination evolution.

History

Publication title

Genes

Volume

12

Issue

11

Pagination

1-21

ISSN

2073-4425

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

C S I R O Publishing

Place of publication

Switzerland

Rights statement

Copyright 2021 The Authors Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences

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