Annotation:
The genome of a dioecious plant
Silene latifolia comprises a giant ~550-megabase Y chromosome, which has remained unsequenced so far. Using a long- and short-read hybrid approach, a high-quality male genome was obtained. Comparative analysis of the sex chromosomes with their homologs in outgroups revealed that the Y is highly rearranged and degenerated. Recombination suppression between X and Y triggered a massive accumulation of repeats leading to a giant sex chromosomes. The use of sex phenotype mutants enabled the identification of candidate sex-determining genes on the Y chromosome in locations consistent with their favouring recombination suppression events 11 and 5 million years ago.
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