德国马克斯-普朗克生物研究所Susana M. Coelho小组发现，褐藻和动物中的HMG-box基因在性别决定过程中反复被共择。2024年3月22日，国际知名学术期刊《科学》发表了这一成果。

研究人员证明了一个HMG-box基因在褐藻中充当雄性决定因子的角色，这与HMG-box基因在动物性别决定中所扮演的角色如出一辙。在长达十亿年的演化过程中，这些谱系独立地共同使用HMG-box来决定雄性，这是演化过程中反复使用相同基因“工具包”来完成类似任务的范例。

研究人员表示，在许多真核生物中，遗传性别决定不是由XX/XY或ZW/ZZ系统决定的，而是由研究较少的U（雌性）或V（雄性）性染色体上的一个特殊区域决定的。以前的研究暗示，在褐藻（一类与动物和植物关系密切的多细胞真核生物）的V染色体上存在一个显性雄性因子，但这一因子的性质一直难以确定。

附：英文原文

Title: Repeated co-option of HMG-box genes for sex determination in brown algae and animals

Author: Rémy Luthringer, Morgane Raphalen, Carla Guerra, Sébastien Colin, Claudia Martinho, Min Zheng, Masakazu Hoshino, Yacine Badis, Agnieszka P. Lipinska, Fabian B. Haas, Josué Barrera-Redondo, Vikram Alva, Susana M. Coelho

Issue&Volume: 2024-03-22

Abstract: In many eukaryotes, genetic sex determination is not governed by XX/XY or ZW/ZZ systems but by a specialized region on the poorly studied U (female) or V (male) sex chromosomes. Previous studies have hinted at the existence of a dominant male-sex factor on the V chromosome in brown algae, a group of multicellular eukaryotes distantly related to animals and plants. The nature of this factor has remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that an HMG-box gene acts as the male-determining factor in brown algae, mirroring the role HMG-box genes play in sex determination in animals. Over a billion-year evolutionary timeline, these lineages have independently co-opted the HMG box for male determination, representing a paradigm for evolution’s ability to recurrently use the same genetic “toolkit” to accomplish similar tasks.

DOI: adk5466

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk5466