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. 2012 Apr 24;22(8):R257-62.
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.02.054.

Sex determination

Tony Gamble  1 , David Zarkower
Affiliations

Sex determination

Tony Gamble et al. Curr Biol. .
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Sex determination pathways in diverse model organisms.
Variations in an XX/XY GSD system. Differences among species are evident throughout all stages of the sex determination hierarchy, although each of the pathways converge on conserved downstream regulators in the DM domain gene family that are essential for male development. For simplicity and clarity, in each gene network shown a number of peripheral, relatively minor, or sex non-specific regulators have been omitted. Regulatory interactions (solid lines) are meant to indicate the regulatory logic of each pathway but do not necessarily imply direct regulation. Dashed lines indicate temporal relationships.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Frequent changes in sex-determining mechanisms among major clades of bony vertebrates.
Colored boxes indicate known sex-determining mechanisms for each clade. Lineages with more than one colored box possess multiple species with different sex-determining mechanisms. Some lineages, e.g. birds, mammals and crocodilians, show great stability of sex-determining mechanisms over long periods of time while other lineages, e.g. ray-finned fish, amphibians, lizards and snakes, and turtles, comprise species with diverse mechanisms, implying more frequent evolutionary changes within those groups. Sex-determining mechanisms are unknown in lungfish and coelacanths.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Animals of mixed-sex genotypes showing both male and female sexual traits.
(A) Bilateral gynandromorph chicken. Right side has cells that are predominantly ZW, while left side cells are predominantly ZZ. Consequently, female characteristics, e.g. small wattle and small leg spur, are expressed on the bird’s right side (brown plumage) while male characteristics, e.g. large wattle, large leg spur and greater muscle mass, are expressed on the bird’s left side (gold and white plumage). Photo courtesy of Dr. Michael Clinton, The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh. (B) “Vincent”, an XXY gray kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) showing both male and female characteristics. The black arrow indicates the pouch, which is determined by the number of X chromosomes, while the white arrow indicates the penis, which along with the testes is determined by the presence of a Y chromosome. Photo courtesy of Professor D.W. Cooper, University of New South Wales.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Darwin C. (1871). The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. (London: John Murray.)
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    1. Herpin A, and Schartl M (2011). Dmrt1 genes at the crossroads: a widespread and central class of sexual development factors in fish. FEBS J. 278, 1010–1019. - PubMed

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