Triploidy in a sexually dimorphic passerine provides new evidence for the effect of the W chromosome on secondary sexual traits in birds |
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Authors: | Crisley de Camargo H. Lisle Gibbs Mariellen C. Costa Luís F. Silveira Cláudia A. Rainho Paulo E. M. Ribolla Adriane P. Wasko Mercival R. Francisco |
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Affiliation: | 1. Dept de Genética, Inst. de Biociências, Univ. Estadual Paulista ‘Júlio de Mesquita Filho’, Botucatu, SP, Brazil;2. Dept of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH, USA;3. Programa de Pós‐Gradua??o em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Univ. Federal de S?o Carlos, S?o Carlos, SP, Brazil;4. Se??o de Aves, Museu de Zoologia da Univ. de S?o Paulo, S?o Paulo, SP, Brazil;5. Inst. de Biotecnologia, Univ. Estadual Paulista ‘Júlio de Mesquita Filho’, Botucatu, SP, Brazil;6. http://orcid.org/0000‐0003‐2083‐7812;7. Dept de Ciências Ambientais, Univ. Federal de S?o Carlos, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil |
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Abstract: | In birds, there are two main models for the determination of sex: the ‘Z Dosage’ model in which the number, or dose, of Z chromosomes determines sex, and the ‘Dominant W’ model which argues that a specific gene in the W chromosome may influence Z gene expression and determine sex. The best evidence for W determination of sex comes from birds with 2 copies of the Z chromosome paired with a single W (e.g. ZZW) which are nonetheless females. Here, we expand the species where such a mechanism may operate by reporting a case of a triploid Neotropical passerine bird with sexually dimorphic plumage, the São Paulo marsh antwren Formicivora paludicola. Evidence from 17 autosomal unlinked microsatellite loci, and CHD1 sex‐linked locus, indicate that this individual is a 3n ZZW triploid with intermediate plumage pattern. This example expands our knowledge of sex determination mechanisms in birds by demonstrating that both the W and the two Z chromosomes affect the expression of morphological secondary sexual traits in a non‐galliform bird. |
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