Sex chromosomes in cichlids

The mechanisms of sex determination are diverse and range from various environmental factors to different genetic systems and complex combinations of ex- and intrinsic signals. These mechanisms are conserved in some organismal groups (e.g. all mammals have the same sex chromosomes) whereas in other groups they differ even between sister species. This project focusses on genetic sex determination - the study of sex chromosomes - in a model system of evolutionary biology, the African cichlids. In cichlids of the Lake Tanganyika radiation, we were able to show that a disproportionately high number of changes of the chromosome that determines sex occur. This project will investigate sex chromosome evolution using genomes and transcriptomes.