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Diverse and variable sex determination mechanisms in vertebrates

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Abstract

Sex is prevalent in nature and sex determination is one of the most fundamental biological processes, while the way of initiating female and male development exhibits remarkable diversity and variability across vertebrates. The knowledge on why and how sex determination mechanisms evolve unusual plasticity remains limited. Here, we summarize sex determination systems, master sex-determining genes and gene-regulatory networks among vertebrates. Recent research advancements on sex determination system transition are also introduced and discussed in some non-model animals with multiple sex determination mechanisms. This review will provide insights into the origin, transition and evolutionary adaption of different sex determination strategies in vertebrates, as well as clues for future perspectives in this field.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Key Program of Frontier Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDY-SSW-SMC025), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31502148 and 31873036), the Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (NYCYTX-49), the Autonomous Project of the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology (2016FBZ01), the Autonomous Project of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y25A171) and the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Science.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, College of Modern Agriculture Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Xi-Yin Li & Jian-Fang Gui

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Li, XY., Gui, JF. Diverse and variable sex determination mechanisms in vertebrates. Sci. China Life Sci. 61, 1503–1514 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-018-9415-7

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