Size and Content of the Sex-Determining Region of the Y Chromosome in Dioecious Mercurialis annua, a Plant with Homomorphic Sex Chromosomes.

ABSTRACT: Dioecious plants vary in whether their sex chromosomes are heteromorphic or homomorphic, but even homomorphic sex chromosomes may show divergence between homologues in the non-recombining, sex-determining region (SDR). Very little is known about the SDR of these species, which might represent particularly early stages of sex-chromosome evolution. Here, we assess the size and content of the SDR of the diploid dioecious herb Mercurialis annua, a species with homomorphic sex chromosomes and mild Y-chromosome degeneration. We used RNA sequencing (RNAseq) to identify new Y-linked markers for M. annua. Twelve of 24 transcripts showing male-specific expression in a previous experiment could be amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) only from males, and are thus likely to be Y-

SUBMITTER: Veltsos P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6027223 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature