We used fine scale genetic maps and positional cloning to isolate the primary signal of haplodiploid sex determination in the honey bee. We began with a colony phenotype, the presence or absence of " shot brood" (50% brood viability) resulting from the loss of larvae due to homozygosity at the sex locus. We used the surviving heterozygous females of these crosses to fine scale map to a single gene. Sequence analysis identified the complementary sex determiner csd as a novel member of (R) arginine- (S) serine-rich protein. Repression of csd resulted in a switch from female into male sexual differentiation.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera
Keywords: evolution, haplodiploidy
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