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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Dynamic evolutionary history and gene content of sex chromosomes across diverse songbirds
Nature Ecology and Evolution, Volume 3, No. 5, Year 2019
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Description
Songbirds have a species number close to that of mammals and are classic models for studying speciation and sexual selection. Sex chromosomes are hotspots of both processes, yet their evolutionary history in songbirds remains unclear. We characterized genomes of 11 songbird species, with 5 genomes of bird-of-paradise species. We conclude that songbird sex chromosomes have undergone four periods of recombination suppression before species radiation, producing a gradient of pairwise sequence divergence termed ‘evolutionary strata’. The latest stratum was probably due to a songbird-specific burst of retrotransposon CR1–E1 elements at its boundary, instead of the chromosome inversion generally assumed for suppressing sex-linked recombination. The formation of evolutionary strata has reshaped the genomic architecture of both sex chromosomes. We find stepwise variations of Z-linked inversions, repeat and guanine–cytosine (GC) contents, as well as W-linked gene loss rate associated with the age of strata. A few W-linked genes have been preserved for their essential functions, indicated by higher and broader expression of lizard orthologues compared with those of other sex-linked genes. We also find a different degree of accelerated evolution of Z-linked genes versus autosomal genes among species, potentially reflecting diversified intensity of sexual selection. Our results uncover the dynamic evolutionary history of songbird sex chromosomes and provide insights into the mechanisms of recombination suppression. © 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
Authors & Co-Authors
Xu, Luohao
China, Hangzhou
Zhejiang University
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
Peona, Valentina
Sweden, Uppsala
Uppsala Universitet
Suh, Alexander
Sweden, Uppsala
Uppsala Universitet
Deng, Yuan
China, Shenzhen
China National Genebank
China, Shenzhen
Bgi-shenzhen
Feng, Shaohong
China, Shenzhen
China National Genebank
China, Shenzhen
Bgi-shenzhen
Zhang, Guojie
China, Shenzhen
China National Genebank
China, Beijing
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Blom, Mozes P.K.
Sweden, Stockholm
Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet
Germany, Berlin
Museum Für Naturkunde
Christidis, Les L.
Australia, Lismore
Southern Cross University
Australia, Melbourne
University of Melbourne
Prost, Stefan
United States, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
Germany, Frankfurt am Main
Loewe Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics Loewe-tbg
Irestedt, Martin
Sweden, Stockholm
Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet
Zhou, Qi
China, Hangzhou
Zhejiang University
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
Statistics
Citations: 52
Authors: 11
Affiliations: 13
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/s41559-019-0850-1
ISSN:
2397334X
Research Areas
Cancer
Genetics And Genomics
Sexual And Reproductive Health