W chromosome sequences of two bombycid moths provide an insight into the origin of Fem.

Fem is a W-linked gene that encodes a piRNA precursor, and its product, Fem piRNA, is a master factor of female determination in Bombyx mori. Fem has low similarity to any known sequences, and the origin of Fem remains unclear. So far, two hypotheses have been proposed for the origin of Fem: The first hypothesis is that Fem is an allele of Masc, which assumes that the W chromosome was originally a homologous chromosome of the Z chromosome. The second hypothesis is that Fem arose by the transposition of Masc to the W chromosome. To explore the origin of Fem, we determined the W chromosome sequences of B. mori and, as a comparison, a closely relative bombycid species of Trilocha varians with a Fem-independent sex determination system. To our surprise, although the sequences of W and Z chromosomes show no homology to each other, a few pairs of homologues are shared by W and Z chromosomes, indicating the W chromosome of both species originated from Z chromosome. In addition, the W chromosome of T. varians lacks Fem, while the W chromosome of B. mori has over 100 copies of Fem. The high-quality assembly of the W chromosome of B. mori arose the third hypothesis about the origin of Fem: Fem is a chimeric sequence of multiple transposons. More than half of one transcriptional unit of Fem shows a significant homology to RTE-BovB. Moreover, the Fem piRNA-producing region could correspond to the boundary of the two transposons, gypsy and satellite DNA.