Scientists map sex chromosome evolution in pathogenic fungi

Biologically speaking, nearly every species on Earth has two opposite sexes, male and female. But with some fungi and other microbes, sex can be a lot more complicated. Some members of Cryptococcus, a family of fungus linked ...

Mutation speeds up sperm of zebra finches

In zebra finches, sperm velocity and morphology and hence reproductive success strongly depend on a specific mutation (an inversion) on one of the sex chromosomes, called Z. This was discovered by scientists of the Max Planck ...

When butterfly male sex-bias flaps its wings

In butterflies, sex is determined by chromosome differences between males and females. But unlike in humans with the familiar X and Y, in butterflies, it is the females that determine the sex of offspring.

Knowledge gap on the origin of sex

There are significant gaps in our knowledge on the evolution of sex, according to a research review on sex chromosomes from Lund University in Sweden. Even after more than a century of study, researchers do not know enough ...

New steps in the meiosis chromosome dance

Where would we be without meiosis and recombination? For a start, none of us sexually reproducing organisms would be here, because that's how sperm and eggs are made. And when meiosis doesn't work properly, it can lead to ...

Tree frogs with foreign sex chromosomes are less fit

During the last glaciation, a huge ice shield reached up to the region of today's Berlin. By the time it started to melt about 20.000 years ago, it enabled a gradual re-colonization of the northern latitudes by many plant ...

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