Sex Chromosome Turnover in Bent-Toed Geckos (Cyrtodactylus)

Shannon E Keating; Madison Blumer; L Lee Grismer; Aung Lin; Stuart V Nielsen; Myint Kyaw Thura; Perry L Wood Jr; Evan S H Quah; Tony Gamble

doi:10.3390/genes12010116

Sex Chromosome Turnover in Bent-Toed Geckos (Cyrtodactylus)

Genes (Basel). 2021 Jan 19;12(1):116. doi: 10.3390/genes12010116.

Authors

Shannon E Keating¹, Madison Blumer², L Lee Grismer³, Aung Lin⁴, Stuart V Nielsen^{1

5

6}, Myint Kyaw Thura⁷, Perry L Wood Jr⁸, Evan S H Quah⁹, Tony Gamble^{1

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA.
² Keck Science Department, Scripps College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA.
³ Herpetology Laboratory, Department of Biology, La Sierra University, Riverside, CA 92515, USA.
⁴ Fauna and Flora International, No (35), 3rd Floor, Shan Gone Condo, Myay Ni Gone Market Street, Sanchaung Township, Yangon 11111, Myanmar.
⁵ Department of Natural Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI 48128, USA.
⁶ Department of Herpetology, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL 31611, USA.
⁷ Myanmar Environment Sustainable Conservation, Yangon 11181, Myanmar.
⁸ Department of Biological Sciences and Museum of Natural History, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
⁹ Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, University Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu 21030, Malaysia.
¹⁰ Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St., Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA.
¹¹ Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, 2088 Larpenteur Ave. W., St. Paul, MN 55113, USA.

Abstract

Lizards and snakes (squamates) are known for their varied sex determining systems, and gecko lizards are especially diverse, having evolved sex chromosomes independently multiple times. While sex chromosomes frequently turnover among gecko genera, intrageneric turnovers are known only from Gekko and Hemidactylus. Here, we used RADseq to identify sex-specific markers in two species of Burmese bent-toed geckos. We uncovered XX/XY sex chromosomes in Cyrtodactylus chaunghanakwaensis and ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes in Cyrtodactylus pharbaungensis. This is the third instance of intrageneric turnover of sex chromosomes in geckos. Additionally, Cyrtodactylus are closely related to another genus with intrageneric turnover, Hemidactylus. Together, these data suggest that sex chromosome turnover may be common in this clade, setting them apart as exceptionally diverse in a group already known for diverse sex determination systems.

Keywords: Gekkota; RADseq; lizard; synteny.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Female
Lizards / genetics*
Male
Phylogeny
Sequence Analysis, DNA / methods
Sex Chromosomes / genetics*
Sex Determination Processes / genetics*