Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41239861›Full record

ArticleGenome biology and evolution2025

Neo-sex Chromosomes Track the Mitochondrial Phylogeny and Exhibit an Extensive Added Stratum of Recombination Suppression in Honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae).

Sophia C M Orzechowski, Doaa Doudin, Foyez Shams, C Jonathan Schmitt, Alex Drew, Chris Wilson, Leo Joseph, Tariq Ezaz, Scott V Edwards

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Article in Genome biology and evolution, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Sophia C M OrzechowskiDepartment of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6746-6388
Doaa DoudinCenter for Conservation Ecology and Genomics, Institute for Applied Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.ORCID 0009-0002-4373-6141
Foyez ShamsCenter for Conservation Ecology and Genomics, Institute for Applied Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5919-0617
C Jonathan SchmittDepartment of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3100-7331
Alex DrewAustralian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia.ORCID 0009-0002-7671-9348
Chris WilsonAustralian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4598-7617
Leo JosephAustralian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7564-1978
Tariq EzazCenter for Conservation Ecology and Genomics, Institute for Applied Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4763-1347
Scott V EdwardsDepartment of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2535-6217

Funding

Australian Ethics Committee AEC 2018 to 2004Australian National Wildlife CollectionHarvard UniversityNew South Wales National ParksScientific Licensing SL102095the Museum of Comparative Zoology
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mounting discoveries of avian neo-sex chromosomes are providing opportunities to understand the extent of variation in fundamental aspects of avian neo-sex chromosome evolution. We integrated cytogenetic data, long-read assemblies, and whole-genome resequencing to test phylogenetic hypotheses of recombination suppression and to elucidate the phylogenetic distribution of neo-sex chromosomes in honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae). We find that neo-sex chromosomes in honeyeaters evolved through a fusion of the long arm of chromosome 5 and the pseudoautosomal region (PAR) of both ancestral Z and W sex chromosomes. Resequencing data from 11 species of honeyeaters and outgroups supports our cytogenetic evidence that these neo-sex chromosomes are derived within honeyeaters. Phylogenetic analyzes confirm that all tested honeyeaters share the same breakpoint for a new 17.4 Mb PAR at the end of the neo-sex chromosomes and suggest a single, large expansion of recombination suppression, encompassing 44.6 Mb, is most supported in the newly fused region of the neo-W. We also discovered phylogenetic discordance between the mapping of neo-sex chromosomes on the established nuclear and mitochondrial (mtDNA) phylogenies. We conclude that neo-sex chromosomes arose once in honeyeaters because they form a monophyletic clade on the mtDNA tree, which shares the phylogenetic history of the neo-W through matrilineal coinheritance. Overall, our findings provide new insights on recombination suppression dynamics of avian neo-sex chromosomes and demonstrate the value of comparing nuclear and mtDNA trees to determine the phylogenetic distribution of neo-sex chromosomes, especially in the presence of mitonuclear discordance, which is common across the avian tree of life.

Indexed as

PasseriformesRecombination, GeneticSex ChromosomesAnimalsEvolution, MolecularFemaleMalePhylogenycytogeneticslong-read sequencingNeo-sex chromosomesphylogenetic hypothesis testingrecombination suppressionsex chromosome evolution

Identifiers

PMID41239861
PMCPMC12666536

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