{"id":5779,"date":"2025-09-08T06:59:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T06:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=5779"},"modified":"2025-09-08T07:00:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T07:00:34","slug":"monotremes-use-unique-gene-for-sex-determination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=5779","title":{"rendered":"Monotremes Use Unique Gene for Sex Determination"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Researchers from the University of Adelaide, in collaboration with several Australian institutions, have uncovered that monotremes\u2014egg-laying mammals like echidnas and platypuses\u2014use a distinct genetic mechanism for sex determination, unlike all other mammals. Published in&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1186\/s13059-025-03546-1\"><em>Genome Biology<\/em><\/a>, the study identifies the&nbsp;<em>AMHY<\/em>&nbsp;gene as the key player, marking a significant breakthrough in understanding these unique animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In most mammals, the&nbsp;<em>SRY<\/em>&nbsp;gene on the Y chromosome triggers male development. However, monotremes lack this gene entirely. Instead, the team found that the&nbsp;<em>AMHY<\/em>&nbsp;gene, located on the monotreme Y chromosome, controls sex determination. This discovery solves a two-decade-old mystery about how these animals develop sexually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Linda Shearwin, co-lead author from the University of Adelaide, emphasized the importance of the findings: \u201cThis research provides the first insight into the genetic control of sexual development in monotremes and supports conservation efforts for these iconic species.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike other mammalian sex-determining genes that act directly on DNA,&nbsp;<em>AMHY<\/em>&nbsp;functions as a growth factor, signaling through cell surface receptors\u2014a mechanism previously observed only in some fish and amphibians. This makes it the first known example of such a process in mammals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cComparisons between monotreme and human AMH proteins could reveal critical insights into fertility and protein function,\u201d added Dr. Shearwin, highlighting potential future research directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study not only fills a major gap in evolutionary biology but also opens doors to further investigations into&nbsp;<em>AMHY<\/em>\u2019s unique role. Understanding these mechanisms could aid in conserving monotremes and shed light on broader questions about mammalian reproduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers from the University of Adelaide, in collaboration with several Australian institutions, have uncovered that monotremes\u2014egg-laying mammals like echidnas and platypuses\u2014use a distinct genetic mechanism for sex determination, unlike all other mammals. Published in&nbsp;Genome Biology, the study identifies the&nbsp;AMHY&nbsp;gene as the key player, marking a significant breakthrough in understanding these unique animals. In most mammals, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1367],"tags":[3536,1368,3535,3149,3534,3533],"class_list":["post-5779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biology","tag-amh-proteins","tag-biology","tag-chromosome-triggers","tag-gene","tag-genome","tag-monotremes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5779"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5781,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5779\/revisions\/5781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}