The evolution of gene regulation on sex chromosomes

Daniel E Shaw; Michael A White

doi:10.1016/j.tig.2022.04.004

The evolution of gene regulation on sex chromosomes

Trends Genet. 2022 Aug;38(8):844-855. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.04.004. Epub 2022 May 13.

Authors

Daniel E Shaw¹, Michael A White²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
² Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: whitem@uga.edu.

PMID: 35577641
DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.04.004

Abstract

Sex chromosomes have evolved repeatedly across the tree of life. Most work has focused on the loss of coding regions from sex-limited chromosomes through the accumulation of deleterious mutations. By comparison, less is known about how the regulatory landscape evolves. We review theories of how regulatory landscapes evolve on sex chromosomes and the overall impact they have on gametolog expression. We integrate empirical studies on sex chromosomes with theoretical work to synthesize how regulatory evolution could occur on sex chromosomes. Recent findings have revealed that downregulation of ancestral alleles is probably widespread on Y chromosomes and that regulatory evolution plays a key role in the evolution of sex chromosomes.

Keywords: cis-regulatory; gene expression; molecular evolution; sex chromosomes.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Alleles
Evolution, Molecular*
Gene Expression Regulation / genetics
Sex Chromosomes* / genetics
Y Chromosome