Cryptic intraspecific variation in sex determination in Caenorhabditis elegans revealed by mutations

Abstract

Sex determination mechanisms (SDMs) show striking diversity and appear to evolve rapidly. Although interspecific comparisons and studies of ongoing major transitions in sex determination (such as the establishment of new sex chromosomes) have shed light on how SDMs evolve, comparatively little attention has been paid to intraspecific variation with less drastic effects. In this study, I used mutant strains carrying a temperature-sensitive sex determination mutation, along with a second null mutation, in different wild genetic backgrounds to uncover hidden variation in the SDM of the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. I then used quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to begin to investigate its genetic basis. I identified several QTLs, and although this variation apparently involved genotype-by-temperature interactions, QTL effects were generally consistent across temperatures. These QTLs collectively and individually explained a relatively large fraction of the variance in tail morphology (a sexually dimorphic trait), and two QTLs contained no genes known to be involved in somatic sex determination. These results show the existence of within-species variation in sex determination in this species, and underscore the potential for microevolutionary change in this important developmental pathway.