Conservation, acquisition, and functional impact of sex-biased gene expression in mammals

TLDR

In mammals, many species exhibit sex‑specific phenotypes, yet the influence of sex on the rest of the genome beyond the X and Y chromosomes remains poorly understood. The study examined sex‑biased gene expression in human height, revealing opposing male or female biases. Across 12 tissues in humans, mice, rats, dogs, and macaques, the authors found diverse sex‑biased gene expression, with conserved patterns across species but species‑ or lineage‑specific differences, and noted opposing male or female bias in height‑related genes. Naqvi et al., Science, this issue p.

Abstract

The genetics of sexual dimorphism In mammals, many species exhibit sex-specific phenotypes that differ between males and females. Although attention has been directed to the effects of the X and Y sex chromosomes, we do not understand how sex affects the rest of the genome. Naqvi et al. examined gene expression in 12 tissues in male and female humans, mice, rats, dogs, and cynomolgus macaques and identified diversity in gene expression between the sexes. Examining sex-biased gene expression in human height identified opposing male or female bias. Although conservation of differential sex-specific gene expression among species was observed, specific genes differed in the sexes among species and lineages suggesting the evolution of species- or lineage-specific sex-biased expression. Science , this issue p. eaaw7317