ArticleNature ecology & evolution2023
Y chromosome toxicity does not contribute to sex-specific differences in longevity.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fertility Gene Introns Harbor Transposable Elements that Shape Y-Loop Architecture.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Arms races between selfish genetic elements and their host defence in termites.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Targeted editing of pericentromeric satellite DNA alters sensitivity to meiotic drive.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Widespread sex-biased gene expression reflects female-biased longevity in a species with environmental sex determination.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Sexual selection drives sex difference in adult life expectancy across mammals and birds.Science advances · 2025Article
- Convergent evolution of H4K16ac-mediated dosage compensation in the ZW species Artemia franciscana.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Sex differences in DNA methylation in bats.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
- Fitness consequences of sex chromosome aneuploidy in Drosophila melanogaster.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Transposable element expression is associated with sex chromosome number in humans.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Exploring the Relationship of Transposable Elements and Ageing: Causes and Consequences.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Review
- X*Y females exhibit steeper reproductive senescence in the African pygmy mouse.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Sex as a biological variable in ageing: insights and perspectives on the molecular and cellular hallmarks.Open biology · 2024Review
- The Structure of Simple Satellite Variation in the Human Genome and Its Correlation With Centromere Ancestry.Genome biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Article
- Centromere-Proximal Suppression of Meiotic Crossovers inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Why Ys are not necessarily toxic.Nature ecology & evolution · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
While sex chromosomes carry sex-determining genes, they also often differ from autosomes in size and composition, consisting mainly of silenced heterochromatic repetitive DNA. Even though Y chromosomes show structural heteromorphism, the functional significance of such differences remains elusive. Correlative studies suggest that the amount of Y chromosome heterochromatin might be responsible for several male-specific traits, including sex-specific differences in longevity observed across a wide spectrum of species, including humans. However, experimental models to test this hypothesis have been lacking. Here we use the Drosophila melanogaster Y chromosome to investigate the relevance of sex chromosome heterochromatin in somatic organs in vivo. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we generated a library of Y chromosomes with variable levels of heterochromatin. We show that these different Y chromosomes can disrupt gene silencing in trans, on other chromosomes, by sequestering core components of the heterochromatin machinery. This effect is positively correlated to the level of Y heterochromatin. However, we also find that the ability of the Y chromosome to affect genome-wide heterochromatin does not generate physiological sex differences, including sexual dimorphism in longevity. Instead, we discovered that it is the phenotypic sex, female or male, that controls sex-specific differences in lifespan, rather than the presence of a Y chromosome. Altogether, our findings dismiss the 'toxic Y' hypothesis that postulates that the Y chromosome leads to reduced lifespan in XY individuals.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.