Genomic predisposition is associated with the direction of sex chromosome evolution

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Zhou, Yang; Jin, Jiazheng; Jiang, Chuan; Dudchenko, Olga; Pinto, Brendan J.; Colaric, Zane; Khan, Ruqayya; Omer, Arina D.; Li, Xuemei; Song, Zhenzhen; Han, Li; Chen, Wanyi; Jiang, Lichun; Song, Zhangyue; Weisz, David; Xia, Yun; Qi, Yin; Cao, Zhengqing; Peng, Yudian; Zhu, Zexian; Zhou, Qi; Liu, Yan; Gu, Xiaosong; Nielsen, Stuart V.; Griffing, Aaron H.; Ezaz, Tariq; Georges, Arthur; Brennan, Ian; Aiden, Erez Lieberman; Gamble, Tony; Shi, Peng; Zhang, Guojie
• 署名单位: Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI); Sun Yat Sen University; Sun Yat Sen University; University of Texas System; University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston; Rice University; Arizona State University; Arizona State University-Tempe; Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS; Skolkovo Institute of Science & Technology; Hunan Agricultural University; ShanghaiTech University; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chengdu Institute of Biology, CAS; Northwest University Xi'an; South China Normal University; Zhejiang University; Zhejiang University; Nantong University; Nantong University; Louisiana State University System; Louisiana State University Shreveport; Princeton University; Princeton University; University of Canberra; University of Canberra; Australian National University; Rice University; Marquette University; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming Institute of Zoology, CAS; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Zhejiang University; Liangzhu Laboratory; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aec3449
• 发表日期: 2026-08-27
• 页码: eaec3449
• 关键词: DETERMINING MECHANISMS; dosage compensation; gene-expression; y-chromosomes; mutation-rate; body-size; alignment; SQUAMATA; GEKKO; transcriptome

摘要

Sex chromosome evolution is among the most dynamic genomic innovations in vertebrates, yet why some lineages evolve XY while others evolve ZW remains unclear. Using chromosome-level genomes from 19 geckos, we found that gecko sex chromosomes originated independently from 16 ancestral chromosomes. Their origins are nonrandom in both time and direction. Five of 11 datable origins coincide near the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition (similar to 10 million years ago). Ancestral gene content is associated with the direction of evolution, with testis-enriched regions tending to evolve into ZW and testis-depleted regions into XY, a pattern observed across multiple amniote sex chromosome origins. Geckos with genetic sex determination repeatedly evolve partial dosage balance through up-regulation in the heterogametic sex. Sex chromosome evolution thus follows constraints from ancestral genomic predisposition and environmental context.