Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 27 September 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.954
News
Sex chromosomes linked to evolution of new species
Questions over conflict of the sexes remain.
Experiments in stickleback fish have shown for the first time that the evolution of new sex chromosomes is the driving force behind the formation of a new vertebrate species.
Up until now, most evidence has shown that new species arise because they have adapted to new environments.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
In the article it says that the males of the new species are more agressive which causes the females not to mate with these males. So how can the males of the new species reproduce? That is only possible if some females do mate with these new males. But these females will probably also mate with "old" males. In fact there are two types of males but only one type of females.
An intriguing article showing that an animalâs sex can drive evolution. Male chromosomes also produce metabolism difference between the sexes and may influence anatomical development. Blue crabs have a metabolite that is synthesized only in males. http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0000780