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XB-ART-60325
PLoS Genet 2023 Oct 01;1910:e1010990. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010990.
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Functional dissection and assembly of a small, newly evolved, W chromosome-specific genomic region of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

Cauret CMS, Jordan DC, Kukoly LM, Burton SR, Anele EU, Kwiecien JM, Gansauge MT, Senthillmohan S, Greenbaum E, Meyer M, Horb ME, Evans BJ.


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Genetic triggers for sex determination are frequently co-inherited with other linked genes that may also influence one or more sex-specific phenotypes. To better understand how sex-limited regions evolve and function, we studied a small W chromosome-specific region of the frog Xenopus laevis that contains only three genes (dm-w, scan-w, ccdc69-w) and that drives female differentiation. Using gene editing, we found that the sex-determining function of this region requires dm-w but that scan-w and ccdc69-w are not essential for viability, female development, or fertility. Analysis of mesonephros+gonad transcriptomes during sexual differentiation illustrates masculinization of the dm-w knockout transcriptome, and identifies mostly non-overlapping sets of differentially expressed genes in separate knockout lines for each of these three W-specific gene compared to wildtype sisters. Capture sequencing of almost all Xenopus species and PCR surveys indicate that the female-determining function of dm-w is present in only a subset of species that carry this gene. These findings map out a dynamic evolutionary history of a newly evolved W chromosome-specific genomic region, whose components have distinctive functions that frequently degraded during Xenopus diversification, and evidence the evolutionary consequences of recombination suppression.

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Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: ccdc69 dm-w dmrt1
GO keywords: W chromosome [+]
gRNAs referenced: xdm-w gRNA2


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References [+] :
Akagi, Recurrent neo-sex chromosome evolution in kiwifruit. 2023, Pubmed