Abstract
Sex chromosomes have evolved independently in all major lineages of eukaryotes, and although the precise genetic mechanism for their formation may differ, it is hypothesized that these sex chromosomes began as ‘ordinary’ autosomes. With their publication of a genetic map for the octoploid strawberry, Fragaria virginiana, Spigler et al. (2008) have discovered a missing link in the evolution of sex chromosomes from autosomes. Before this study, sex determination in this sub-dioecious plant (consisting of males, females and hermaphrodites) was considered to be controlled by a single Mendelian locus. However, Spigler et al. (2008) found that male and female functions mapped independently and are tightly linked in a single linkage group. These findings are consistent with current models of sex chromosome evolution from autosomes and represent one of the earliest stages of sex chromosome evolution.
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