On the Form and Origins of the Bizarre Sex Chromosomal System of the Mandarin Vole

Abstract Recent work has illuminated the bizarre sex chromosomal system of the mandarin vole, Lasiopodomys mandarinus. The ancestral sex chromosomes have been replaced by 4 neo-sex chromosomes. These sex chromosomes show non-Mendelian inheritance and epistatic sex determination, as well as unaccount...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of heredity 2021-07, Vol.112 (4), p.328-334
Main Author: Roy, Scott William
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Abstract Recent work has illuminated the bizarre sex chromosomal system of the mandarin vole, Lasiopodomys mandarinus. The ancestral sex chromosomes have been replaced by 4 neo-sex chromosomes. These sex chromosomes show non-Mendelian inheritance and epistatic sex determination, as well as unaccounted-for karyotype frequencies. I suggest a model to account for the complex observed inheritance patterns. The proposed model combines putative adaptations previously observed in rodents, including feminizing X chromosomes and Y-biased spermatogenesis, with a novel proposed mechanism of genomic imprinting of X-linked genes during oogenesis in XY females. Alternative possibilities are also discussed. The proposed scenario provides a relatively simple and testable model for the function and origins of a remarkably complex mammalian sex chromosomal system.
ISSN:0022-1503
1465-7333
DOI:10.1093/jhered/esab020