Article
Genetics & Heredity
Dung Nguyen Viet, Olivier Christiaens, Stephanie De Vos, Guy Smagghe, Peter Bossier
Summary: Recent advances in understanding sex determination and differentiation in animals have been made through the use of advanced research tools. This study discovered sex-specific transcripts in the Artemia franciscana genome, which share similarities with the sex determination mechanism described in insects.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stevie A. Bain, Hollie Marshall, Andres G. de la Filia, Dominik R. Laetsch, Filip Husnik, Laura Ross
Summary: The mealybug, Planococcus citri, displays extreme sexual dimorphism and exhibits an unusual instance of sex-specific genomic imprinting, paternal genome elimination (PGE). Genome-wide differences in DNA methylation between male and female P. citri were identified, with males displaying overall higher levels of DNA methylation and females displaying more targeted high levels of methylation. These sex-specific differences are due to chromosomal differences caused by PGE and may be linked to possible ploidy compensation.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Gagandeep Singh Brar, Satnam Singh, Jayendra Nath Shukla, Vijay Kumar, T. G. Emyr Davies, Gurmeet Kaur, Suneet Pandher, Ramandeep Kaur
Summary: In this study, the sex determination mechanism of the major cotton pest, Bemisia tabaci, was investigated and it was found that the Asia II-1 doublesex (Btdsx) gene of Bemisia tabaci produces multiple forms of protein through sex-specific splicing, with significantly higher expression in female adults. Knockdown of Btdsx resulted in up-regulation of vitellogenin genes in males and down-regulation in females, and also led to reduced fecundity and egg hatching percentage. However, the female: male ratios in the progeny were not affected.
Article
Biology
Yidong Wang, Weizhao Sun, Sonja Fleischmann, Jocelyn G. Millar, Joachim Ruther, Eveline C. Verhulst
Summary: The Dsx gene has a crucial role in regulating sexual morphological differences and sexual behavior in insects. A study on the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis demonstrates that silencing the NvDsx gene in males leads to feminization at various levels, including reduced pheromone production and altered cuticular hydrocarbon profiles. The study also highlights the importance of a specific alkene, Z9C31, in sex discrimination and mating success in N. vitripennis.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Mukulika Ray, Ashley Mae Conard, Jennifer Urban, Pranav Mahableshwarkar, Joseph Aguilera, Annie Huang, Smriti Vaidyanathan, Erica Larschan
Summary: Sex-specific splicing is crucial for sex determination and sexual dimorphism. Our study reveals that widespread sex-specific transcript diversity occurs at early developmental stages.
Article
Entomology
Binbin Jin, Yijie Zhao, Yunqiao Dong, Peiwen Liu, Yan Sun, Xiaocong Li, Xin Zhang, Xiao-Guang Chen, Jinbao Gu
Summary: Sexual development in insects is regulated by a complex cascade of sex determination, with diverse signals and a relatively conserved central doublesex (dsx) gene. In Aedes albopictus, the dsx gene produces one male and three female-specific isoforms, with the presence of Nix influencing the direction of sex differentiation.
Article
Physiology
Su-Fang Ning, Liang-Xiao Huo, Lin Lv, Ying Wang, Li-Sheng Zhang, Wu-Nan Che, Hui Dong, Jin-Cheng Zhou
Summary: In this study, the sex determination genes and sex-specific gene splicing were identified for the first time in Trichogramma wasps. It was found that these genes exhibit sex-specific expression during the early embryo and larval stages of the wasps. These findings provide a foundation for further research on the sex determination mechanisms of Trichogramma and other wasps, and also facilitate the application of these important egg parasitoids in biological insect pest control programs.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Z. G. Holditch, K. N. Ochoa, S. Greene, S. Allred, J. Baranowski, S. M. Shuster
Summary: Haplo-diploid sex determination in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis allows females to adjust their brood sex ratios in order to minimize local mate competition. Previous studies have shown that sperm depletion affects sex allocation in this species.
JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yasuhiko Chikami, Miki Okuno, Atsushi Toyoda, Takehiko Itoh, Teruyuki Niimi
Summary: Alternative splicing is important for functional diversity in proteins and the complexity of eukaryotes. The study reveals that the doublesex gene initially promoted male differentiation in insect evolution but may have also played a role in female development in a common ancestor. Protein structure changes rather than the emergence of female-specific exons are proposed to explain the acquisition of function in female morphogenesis.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Kanwal Ranian, Muhammad Kashif Zahoor, Muhammad Zulhussnain, Aftab Ahmad
Summary: This study utilized CRISPR/Cas9 technique to genetically manipulate Aedes aegypti by disrupting the key gene doublesex, resulting in phenotypic anomalies and decreased fertility in female mosquitoes. These findings provide a potential genetic control approach for the management of mosquito-borne diseases.
SAUDI JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Long Wang, Zhi-Qiang Liu, Ke-Yi Ma, Jing-Rui Tao, Xiang Fang, Gao-Feng Qiu
Summary: This study identified a novel sex-specific gene, EsDsx-like, involved in spermatogenesis and sex differentiation in Chinese mitten crab. The gene was specifically expressed in testis and showed a direct interaction with the male hormone EsIAG, indicating its role as an upstream regulatory gene in sex differentiation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elzbieta Krzywinska, Luca Ferretti, Jianwei Li, Jian-Chiuan Li, Chun-Hong Chen, Jaroslaw Krzywinski
Summary: The evolutionary puzzle of insect sex determination and dosage compensation pathways has been mostly solved in Drosophila melanogaster, with only terminal genes in the pathway being well conserved. The doublesex (dsx) gene, an ancient sex-determining gene, is present in all studied species except lepidopterans. In Anopheles gambiae, the femaleless (fle) gene controls sex determination in females by regulating splicing of dsx and fruitless (fru) and represents a novel molecular link between sex determination and dosage compensation pathways, making it a potential target for genetic control of malaria vectors.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiuwen Zhang, Susan Wagner, Clare E. Holleley, Janine E. Deakin, Kazumi Matsubara, Ira W. Deveson, Denis O'Meally, Hardip R. Patel, Tariq Ezaz, Zhao Li, Chexu Wang, Melanie Edwards, Jennifer A. Marshall Graves, Arthur Georges
Summary: In this study, the researchers discovered that the genetic sex determination system of Pogona vitticeps is controlled by a W-borne dominant female-determining gene. The transcripts produced by the W-borne allele may produce truncated polypeptides that inhibit testis development. This finding is important for our understanding of the sex determination mechanism in reptiles and the influence of epigenetics.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Takahiro Fukui, Keisuke Shoji, Takashi Kiuchi, Yutaka Suzuki, Susumu Katsuma
Summary: Lepidopteran insects show a different mechanism of sex determination compared to most insect species. The silkworm Bombyx mori, a model species in this group, has a sex-determining gene called Feminizer (Fem) on the female-specific W chromosome. Fem is a precursor of PIWI-interacting small RNA (piRNA) that cleaves the mRNA of the male-determining gene Masc, leading to female development. However, this piRNA-dependent sex determination strategy is not observed in the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis. Despite previous findings of masculinizing function of the Masc gene (OfMasc) in O. furnacalis embryos, there was no difference in the expression level of OfMasc between males and females during sex determination. Furthermore, deep sequencing analysis did not identify any female-specific small RNAs mapped onto OfMasc mRNA. Knockdown of two PIWI genes also did not affect the expression level of OfMasc in either sex. These findings suggest the possibility of divergent evolution of sex determinants in Lepidoptera.
INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Thea F. Rogers, Daniela H. Palmer, Alison E. Wright
Summary: Research shows that sex-specific patterns of splicing are correlated with phenotypic sex differences and may offer an important route to sex-specific adaptation. Understanding the role of gene regulation in males and females is crucial for the evolution of phenotypic sexual dimorphism.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Elena Dalla Benetta, Leo W. Beukeboom, Louis van de Zande
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2019)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Jan Philip Oeyen, Patrice Baa-Puyoulet, Joshua B. Benoit, Leo W. Beukeboom, Erich Bornberg-Bauer, Anja Buttstedt, Federica Calevro, Elizabeth Cash, Hsu Chao, Hubert Charles, Mei-Ju May Chen, Christopher Childers, Andrew G. Cridge, Peter Dearden, Huyen Dinh, Harsha Vardhan Doddapaneni, Amanda Dolan, Alexander Donath, Daniel Dowling, Shannon Dugan, Elizabeth Duncan, Elena N. Elpidina, Markus Friedrich, Elzemiek Geuverink, Joshua D. Gibson, Sonja Grath, Cornelis J. P. Grimmelikhuijzen, Ewald Grosse-Wilde, Cameron Gudobba, Yi Han, Bill S. Hansson, Frank Hauser, Daniel S. T. Hughes, Panagiotis Ioannidis, Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly, Emily C. Jennings, Jeffery W. Jones, Steffen Klasberg, Sandra L. Lee, Peter Lesny, Mackenzie Lovegrove, Sebastian Martin, Alexander G. Martynov, Christoph Mayer, Nicolas Montagne, Victoria C. Moris, Monica Munoz-Torres, Shwetha Canchi Murali, Donna M. Muzny, Brenda Oppert, Nicolas Parisot, Thomas Pauli, Ralph S. Peters, Malte Petersen, Christian Pick, Emma Persyn, Lars Podsiadlowski, Monica F. Poelchau, Panagiotis Provataris, Jiaxin Qu, Maarten J. M. F. Reijnders, Bjoern Marcus von Reumont, Andrew J. Rosendale, Felipe A. Simao, John Skelly, Alexandros G. Sotiropoulos, Aaron L. Stahl, Megumi Sumitani, Elise M. Szuter, Olivia Tidswell, Evangelos Tsitlakidis, Lucia Vedder, Robert M. Waterhouse, John H. Werren, Jeanne Wilbrandt, Kim C. Worley, Daisuke S. Yamamoto, Louis van de Zande, Evgeny M. Zdobnov, Tanja Ziesmann, Richard A. Gibbs, Stephen Richards, Masatsugu Hatakeyama, Bernhard Misof, Oliver Niehuis
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Bart A. Pannebakker, Nicola Cook, Joost van den Heuvel, Louis van de Zande, David M. Shuker
Article
Biology
Kelley Leung, Erica Ras, Kim B. Ferguson, Simone Ariens, Dirk Babendreier, Piter Bijma, Kostas Bourtzis, Jacques Brodeur, Margreet A. Bruins, Alejandra Centurion, Sophie R. Chattington, Milena Chinchilla-Ramirez, Marcel Dicke, Nina E. Fatouros, Joel Gonzalez-Cabrera, Thomas V. M. Groot, Tim Haye, Markus Knapp, Panagiota Koskinioti, Sophie Le Hesran, Manolis Lyrakis, Angeliki Paspati, Meritxell Perez-Hedo, Wouter N. Plouvier, Christian Schloetterer, Judith M. Stahl, Andra Thiel, Alberto Urbaneja, Louis van de Zande, Eveline C. Verhulst, Louise E. M. Vet, Sander Visser, John H. Werren, Shuwen Xia, Bas J. Zwaan, Sara Magalhaes, Leo W. Beukeboom, Bart A. Pannebakker
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuan Zou, Elzemiek Geuverink, Leo W. Beukeboom, Eveline C. Verhulst, Louis van de Zande
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wen-Juan Ma, Bart A. Pannebakker, Xuan Li, Elzemiek Geuverink, Seyed Yahya Anvar, Paris Veltsos, Tanja Schwander, Louis van de Zande, Leo W. Beukeboom
Summary: During the transition from sexual to asexual reproduction, female functional virginity, a trait where asexual females resist mating or fertilizing eggs, appears to evolve early in the transition. The genetic basis of this trait appears to be controlled by a single recessive locus. QTL mapping and candidate gene analyses revealed a single QTL of large effect, comprising at least 131 protein-coding genes, in the related sexual species. This suggests that rapid evolution of female functional virginity in the transition to asexuality may be governed by a single locus or cluster of closely linked loci.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Elena Dalla Benetta, Louis van de Zande, Leo W. Beukeboom
Summary: The clock gene period (per) may play a role in regulating ultradian courtship rhythms of Nasonia vitripennis wasps, as demonstrated through RNA interference resulting in altered cycle duration and head-nod numbers in males of different strains.
Article
Entomology
Monika Trienens, Maartje C. W. G. Giesbers, Bart A. Pannebakker, Louis van de Zande, Leo W. Beukeboom
Summary: Research on mating rates within the Nasonia genus revealed that within-host mating (WHM) rates are high in N. giraulti, but low in N. vitripennis and N. longicornis. Progeny analysis of interspecific crosses showed that WHM is mainly determined by the maternal species.
ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Fangying Chen, Martijn Schenkel, Elzemiek Geuverink, Louis van de Zande, Leo W. Beukeboom
Summary: Complementary sex determination (CSD) is a common sex determination mechanism in haplodiploid Hymenoptera, while endosymbiont-induced thelytoky may be incompatible with CSD due to gamete duplication leading to complete homozygosity. The rejection of CSD in two cynipid wasp species, Leptopilina heterotoma and Leptopilina clavipes, sheds light on the sex determination mechanism and presumed incompatibility between CSD and endosymbiont-induced thelytoky in Hymenoptera.
Article
Entomology
Xuan Li, Fangfei Lin, Louis van de Zande, Leo W. Beukeboom
Summary: Sex-determination mechanisms evolve rapidly and vary between species. A study on the dynamics and stability of polymorphic systems in the housefly provides a better understanding of the evolution of sex-determination systems. The presence and frequency of dominant male-determining loci (M) and the female-determining gene transformer (tra) were investigated in regional Spanish populations. The results suggest that the stability of these systems may be influenced by the presence of homozygous and/or multiple M loci and heterozygous tra(D), and limited migration between populations may contribute to their stability.
Article
Fisheries
Elodie Wilwert, Rampal S. Etienne, Louis van de Zande, Martine E. Maan
Summary: Adaptation to heterogeneous sensory environments, particularly in Cichlid fish, involves divergent visual adaptation mediated by variations in cone opsin genes and vitamin A(1)/A(2)-derived chromophores. This study examines genetic differences in cyp27c1 expression among sympatric Pundamilia cichlids in Lake Victoria, suggesting potential significance in visual adaptation. However, the contribution of cyp27c1 to visual adaptation and the effects of different visual habitats require further investigation.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yidong Wang, Anna H. Rensink, Ute Fricke, Megan C. Riddle, Carol Trent, Louis C. van de Zande, Eveline Verhulst
Summary: This study investigates the role of the highly conserved gene Doublesex in shaping sexual dimorphism in the model parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. The results show that the male Doublesex gene is involved in suppressing female-specific traits and promoting male-specific traits during distinct developmental stages.
INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Elodie Wilwert, Rampal S. Etienne, Louis van de Zande, Martine E. Maan
Summary: Visual system plasticity in cichlid fish is mediated by differential expression of opsin and cyp27c1, possibly associated with species differences in visual niche.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Laura van Rosmalen, Robin Schepers, Wensi Hao, Anna S. Przybylska-Piech, Jeremy S. Herman, Joanna Stojak, Jan M. Wojcik, Louis van de Zande, Jeremy B. Searle, Roelof A. Hut
Summary: The vertebrate photoperiodic neuroendocrine system uses the photoperiod as a proxy to time the annual rhythms in reproduction. The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is a key protein in this pathway and its abundance and function can tune sensitivity to the photoperiod. Genetic variations in Tshr were found in Western European vole populations and were significantly correlated with a predicted critical photoperiod (pCPP) for the spring onset of local primary food production. However, this relationship was lacking in Eastern Europe. These findings suggest that Tshr has been targeted by natural selection in Western European voles to optimize the timing of seasonal reproduction.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Silvia Paolucci, Elena Dalla Benetta, Lucia Salis, David Dolezel, Louis van de Zande, Leo W. Beukeboom
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
(2019)
