Y chromosome evolution: emerging insights into processes of Y chromosome degeneration

By D. Bachtrog. Nature reviews genetics, 2013

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The human Y chromosome is intriguing not only because it harbours the master-switch gene that determines gender but also because of its unusual evolutionary history. The Y chromosome evolved from an autosome, and its evolution has been characterized by massive gene decay. Recent whole-genome and transcriptome analyses of Y chromosomes in humans and other primates, in Drosophila species and in plants have shed light on the current gene content of the Y chromosome, its origins and its long-term fate. Furthermore, comparative analysis of young and old Y chromosomes has given further insights into the evolutionary and molecular forces triggering Y-chromosome degeneration and into the evolutionary destiny of the Y chromosome.

Subfields: Genetics, Molecular Biology, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/dcdfab57f5dd7e47e8389ba58b2161c51351b835