biostudies-literatureOgita YTakahashi Industrial and Economic Research FoundationGrant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science100757https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC6941857biostudies-literatureUnknown23(1)Animal sex-determining genes, which bifurcate for female and male development, are diversified even among closely related species. Most of these genes emerged independently from various sex-related genes during species diversity as neofunctionalization-type genes. However, the common mechanisms of this divergent evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we compared the molecular evolution of two sex-determining genes, the medaka dmy and the clawed frog dm-W, which independently evolved from the duplication of the transcription factor-encoding masculinization gene dmrt1. Interestingly, we detected parallel amino acid substitutions, from serine (S) to threonine (T), on the DNA-binding domains of both ancestral DMY and DM-W, resulting from positive selection. Two types of DNA-protein binding iScienceParallel Evolution of Two dmrt1-Derived Genes, dmy and dm-W, for Vertebrate Sex Determination.PMC694185718K0638922132003Mawaribuchi SYoneda SOota HKatsumura TWatanabe GNakasako KOgita YTamura KIto MMatsuda MTakamatsu NfalseParallel Evolution of Two dmrt1-Derived Genes, dmy and dm-W, for Vertebrate Sex Determination.Animal sex-determining genes, which bifurcate for female and male development, are diversified even among closely related species. Most of these genes emerged independently from various sex-related genes during species diversity as neofunctionalization-type genes. However, the common mechanisms of this divergent evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we compared the molecular evolution of two sex-determining genes, the medaka dmy and the clawed frog dm-W, which independently evolved from the duplication of the transcription factor-encoding masculinization gene dmrt1. Interestingly, we detected parallel amino acid substitutions, from serine (S) to threonine (T), on the DNA-binding domains of both ancestral DMY and DM-W, resulting from positive selection. Two types of DNA-protein binding 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z2020 Jan2025-04-18T15:34:10.592Z2025-04-07T02:17:02.652ZS-EPMC69418573188416610.1016/j.isci.2019.100757