Tree of Sex: A database of sexual systems

Tia Lynn Ashman, Doris Bachtrog, Heath Blackmon, Emma E. Goldberg, Matthew W. Hahn, Mark Kirkpatrick, Jun Kitano, Judith E. Mank, Itay Mayrose, Ray Ming, Sarah P. Otto, Catherine L. Peichel, Matthew W. Pennell, Nicolas Perrin, Laura Ross, Nicole Valenzuela, Jana C. Vamosi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

171 Scopus citations

Abstract

The vast majority of eukaryotic organisms reproduce sexually, yet the nature of the sexual system and the mechanism of sex determination often vary remarkably, even among closely related species. Some species of animals and plants change sex across their lifespan, some contain hermaphrodites as well as males and females, some determine sex with highly differentiated chromosomes, while others determine sex according to their environment. Testing evolutionary hypotheses regarding the causes and consequences of this diversity requires interspecific data placed in a phylogenetic context. Such comparative studies have been hampered by the lack of accessible data listing sexual systems and sex determination mechanisms across the eukaryotic tree of life. Here, we describe a database developed to facilitate access to sexual system and sex chromosome information, with data on sexual systems from 11,038 plant, 705 fish, 173 amphibian, 593 non-Avian reptilian, 195 avian, 479 mammalian, and 11,556 invertebrate species.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number140015
JournalScientific Data
Volume1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 24 2014

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