Wildlife Genetics Laboratory, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 2011;12:391-406. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genom-082410-101518.
Important technological advances in genomics are driving a new understanding of the evolution of sex determination in vertebrates. In particular, comparative chromosome mapping in reptiles has shown an intriguing distribution of homology in sex chromosomes across reptile groups. When this new understanding is combined with the widespread distribution of genetic and temperature-dependent sex-determination mechanisms among reptiles, it is apparent that transitions between modes have occurred many times, as they have for amphibians (particularly between male and female heterogamety). It is also likely that thermosensitivity in sex determination is a key factor in those transitions in reptiles, and possibly in amphibians too. New models of sex determination involving temperature thresholds are providing the framework for the investigation of transitions and making possible key predictions about the homologies and sex-determination patterns expected among taxa in these groups. Molecular cytogenetics and other genomic approaches are essential to providing the fundamental material necessary to make advances in this field.
基因组学的重要技术进步正在推动人们对脊椎动物性别决定进化的新认识。特别是，爬行动物的比较染色体图谱显示，性染色体在爬行动物群体中的同源性分布令人着迷。当这种新的认识与遗传和温度依赖性性别决定机制在爬行动物中的广泛分布相结合时，很明显，模式之间的转变已经发生了很多次，就像两栖动物一样（特别是在雄性和雌性异型配子之间）。温度敏感性在性别决定中的作用很可能是爬行动物发生这些转变的关键因素，在两栖动物中也可能如此。涉及温度阈值的新性别决定模型为研究这些转变提供了框架，并为这些群体中分类群之间的同源性和性别决定模式提供了关键预测。分子细胞遗传学和其他基因组方法对于提供在该领域取得进展所需的基本材料至关重要。
