UCL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS, EVOLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

‘All about sex in fish’

Abstract:

Sex is a ubiquitous feature in the living world and, although a general consensus exists on its relevance for obtaining new genetic combinations for adaption, the presence of different sexes introduces new evolutionary scenarios for live. Sex determination is an especial developmental pathway, where an undifferentiated gonad is driven towards an ovary or a testis at a specific time of development mostly depending on the genetic constitution of the individual. Our view of sex determination and its evolution has been very influenced by the studies on Drosophila, mammals and birds, where a stable genetic mechanism reflected as a chromosome heteromorphism associated to a particular model of inheritance is present. Fish have demonstrated a very different pattern of sex evolution. Different genes and even environmental variants play a role and changes in sex determination can occur in a very short period of evolutionary time.