Orteu, Anna, McCarthy, Shane A, Hornett, Emily A 
ORCID: 0000-0002-7747-0583, Gemmell, Matthew R, Reynolds, Louise A, Warren, Ian A, Gordon, Ian J, Hurst, Gregory DD ORCID: 0000-0002-7163-7784, Durbin, Richard, Martin, Simon H et al (show 1 more authors)
(2024)
The Hypolimnas misippus Genome Supports a Common Origin of the W Chromosome in Lepidoptera.
Genome biology and evolution, 16 (10).
evae215-evae215.
ISSN 1759-6653, 1759-6653
Abstract
Moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) have a heterogametic sex chromosome system with females carrying ZW chromosomes and males ZZ. The lack of W chromosomes in early-diverging lepidopteran lineages has led to the suggestion of an ancestral Z0 system in this clade and a B chromosome origin of the W. This contrasts with the canonical model of W chromosome evolution in which the W would have originated from the same homologous autosomal pair as the Z chromosome. Despite the distinct models proposed, the rapid evolution of the W chromosome has hindered the elucidation of its origin. Here, we present high-quality, chromosome-level genome assemblies of 2 Hypolimnas species (Hypolimnas misippus and Hypolimnas bolina) and use the H. misippus assembly to explore the evolution of W chromosomes in butterflies and moths. We show that in H. misippus, the W chromosome has higher similarity to the Z chromosome than any other chromosome, which could suggest a possible origin from the same homologous autosome pair as the Z chromosome. However, using genome assemblies of closely related species (ditrysian lineages) containing assembled W chromosomes, we present contrasting evidence suggesting that the W chromosome might have evolved from a B chromosome instead. Crucially, by using a synteny analysis to infer homology, we show that W chromosomes are likely to share a common evolutionary origin in Lepidoptera. This study highlights the difficulty of studying the evolution of W chromosomes and contributes to better understanding its evolutionary origins.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sex chromosome evolution, genome assembly, B chromosome, neo-Z chromosome |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Nov 2024 09:45 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Apr 2026 19:49 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/gbe/evae215 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evae215 |
| Related Websites: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3187961 |
| Disclaimer: | The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate. |
Altmetric
Altmetric