{"doi":"10.1111/jeb.14034","title":"Identification of a candidate sex determination gene in <i>Culaea inconstans</i> suggests convergent recruitment of an <i>Amh</i> duplicate in two lineages of stickleback","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Sex chromosomes vary greatly in their age and levels of differentiation across the tree of life. This variation is largely due to the rates of sex chromosome turnover in different lineages; however, we still lack an explanation for why sex chromosomes are so conserved in some lineages (e.g. mammals, birds) but so labile in others (e.g. teleosts, amphibians). To identify general mechanisms driving transitions in sex determination systems or forces which favour their conservation, we first require empirical data on sex chromosome systems from multiple lineages. Stickleback fishes are a valuable model lineage for the study of sex chromosome evolution due to variation in sex chromosome systems between closely‐related species. Here, we identify the sex chromosome and a strong candidate for the master sex determination gene in the brook stickleback, <jats:italic>Culaea inconstans</jats:italic>. Using whole‐genome sequencing of wild‐caught samples and a lab cross, we identify <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic>, a male specific duplication of the gene <jats:italic>Amh</jats:italic>, as the candidate master sex determination gene. <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic> resides on Chromosome 20 in <jats:italic>C. inconstans</jats:italic> and is likely a recent duplication, as both <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic> and the sex‐linked region of Chromosome 20 show little sequence divergence. Importantly, this duplicate <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic> represents the second independent duplication and recruitment of <jats:italic>Amh</jats:italic> as the sex determination gene in stickleback and the eighth example known across teleosts. We discuss this convergence in the context of sex chromosome turnovers and the role that the <jats:italic>Amh</jats:italic>/<jats:italic>AmhrII</jats:italic> pathway, which is crucial for sex determination, may play in the evolution of sex chromosomes in teleosts.</jats:p>","journal":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","year":2022,"id":649767,"datarank":0.5533319181170905,"base_score":3.6888794541139363,"endowment":3.6888794541139363,"self_citation_contribution":0.5533319181170905,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.5533319181170905,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":39,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1425624,"name":"Jonathan A. Mee","orcid":"0000-0003-0688-1390","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":252349,"name":"Catherine L. Peichel","orcid":"0000-0002-7731-8944","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1374371,"name":"Daniel L. Jeffries","orcid":"0000-0003-1701-3978","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Identification of a candidate sex determination gene in <i>Culaea inconstans</i> suggests convergent recruitment of an <i>Amh</i> duplicate in two lineages of stickleback","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Sex chromosomes vary greatly in their age and levels of differentiation across the tree of life. This variation is largely due to the rates of sex chromosome turnover in different lineages; however, we still lack an explanation for why sex chromosomes are so conserved in some lineages (e.g. mammals, birds) but so labile in others (e.g. teleosts, amphibians). To identify general mechanisms driving transitions in sex determination systems or forces which favour their conservation, we first require empirical data on sex chromosome systems from multiple lineages. Stickleback fishes are a valuable model lineage for the study of sex chromosome evolution due to variation in sex chromosome systems between closely‐related species. Here, we identify the sex chromosome and a strong candidate for the master sex determination gene in the brook stickleback, <jats:italic>Culaea inconstans</jats:italic>. Using whole‐genome sequencing of wild‐caught samples and a lab cross, we identify <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic>, a male specific duplication of the gene <jats:italic>Amh</jats:italic>, as the candidate master sex determination gene. <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic> resides on Chromosome 20 in <jats:italic>C. inconstans</jats:italic> and is likely a recent duplication, as both <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic> and the sex‐linked region of Chromosome 20 show little sequence divergence. Importantly, this duplicate <jats:italic>AmhY</jats:italic> represents the second independent duplication and recruitment of <jats:italic>Amh</jats:italic> as the sex determination gene in stickleback and the eighth example known across teleosts. We discuss this convergence in the context of sex chromosome turnovers and the role that the <jats:italic>Amh</jats:italic>/<jats:italic>AmhrII</jats:italic> pathway, which is crucial for sex determination, may play in the evolution of sex chromosomes in teleosts.</jats:p>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":3.6888794541139363,"endowment":3.6888794541139363,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"35816592","pmcid":"PMC10083969","openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W4285013769","authors":[],"funders":[{"funder_name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada","grant_id":"RGPIN‐2019‐04351","title":null},{"funder_name":"Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung","grant_id":"31003A_176130","title":null},{"funder_name":"Swiss National Science Foundation","grant_id":"176130","title":"Chromosome evolution: molecular mechanisms and evolutionary consequences"},{"funder_name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada","grant_id":"unidentified","title":"unidentified"}],"total_grants":4,"fwci":6.072,"citation_percentile":0.97035452,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2022,"count":2},{"year":2023,"count":10},{"year":2024,"count":12},{"year":2025,"count":12},{"year":2026,"count":3}],"oa_status":"hybrid","license":"cc-by-nc","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://academic.oup.com/jeb/article-pdf/35/12/1683/54184183/jevbio1683.pdf","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://academic.oup.com/jeb/article-pdf/35/12/1683/54184183/jevbio1683.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jeb.14034","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jeb.14034","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.14034","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35816592","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/10083969","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://boris.unibe.ch/171256/","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.48350/171256","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10083969/pdf/JEB-35-1683.pdf","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC10083969","host_type":"Europe_PMC"},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC10083969?pdf=render","host_type":"Europe_PMC"},{"url":"https://dx.doi.org/10.48350/171256","host_type":""},{"url":"http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jeb.14034","host_type":""}],"fields_of_study":["Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities","Chromosomal and Genetic Variations","Reproductive biology and impacts on aquatic species","0301 basic medicine","03 medical and health sciences","Animals","Smegmamorpha","Sex Determination Processes","Sex Chromosomes","Fishes","Evolution, Molecular","Mammals"],"mesh_terms":["Animals","Fishes","Mammals","Sex Chromosomes","Evolution, Molecular","Sex Determination Processes","Smegmamorpha"],"keywords":["Biology","Evolutionary biology","Chromosome","Gene duplication","Lineage (genetic)","Y chromosome","Genetics","Stickleback","Context (archaeology)","Evolution of sexual reproduction","W chromosome","Gene","Karyotype","Fish <Actinopterygii>","Amh","Sex Chromosome Evolution","Teleosts","Sex Chromosome Turnover","Evolution, Molecular","Mammals","Sex Chromosomes","Fishes","Animals","Sex Determination Processes","Research Articles","Smegmamorpha"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Life below water"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-10T04:17:23.732370Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}