Production of all female progeny: evidence for the presence of the male sex determination factor on the Y chromosome

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, follows an XX (female) and XY (male) sex determination system. Maternal supply of the protein Transformer (Tra) is required for XX insects to follow the female pathway. The nature and source of the signal that regulates male sex determination in XY beetles are not known. Parental RNAi-aided knockdown in expression of tra masculinizes genetic females (XX) that are fertile. The virgin females mated with these masculinized genetic females produced all female progeny. We present the genetic evidence to show that the factor responsible for male sex determination is present on the Y chromosome. These data also suggest that the Y chromosome in T. castaneum is not required for male fertility.